Starscape
by MALar
Summary: Farscape/Stargate Crossover with emphasis on Farscape
1. .

Title: Starscape  Title: Starscape   
Disclaimer: I make no claim to ownership of anything related to Farscape. The show, its characters and all related material are owned by Henson, SciFi and various other people, none of whom are me.   
  
Rating: PG13 for Violence (including torture) & Farscape profanity   
  
Setting: Starting on Earth and a planet in the UT, 2.5 years after Aeryn's inevitable resurrection.   
  
Archiving: Please email me first.   
  
Spoilers: Up to the end of season 2   
  
Feedback: Please.   
  
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Shipscat for being a one woman audience while this thing was being written haphazardly, in fits and starts.   
  
--------------------   
  
Stargate Command, Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado   
  
As they waited for Gen. Hammond to brief them on their upcoming mission, the members of SG-1 were each occupied with their own thoughts. Teal'c sat in contemplative silence. Dr. Daniel Jackson and Major Samantha Carter were, as usual, deeply absorbed in their respective bits of arcana. Col. Jack O'Neill was bored.   
  
The General began the briefing in his usual direct and semi-formal style.   
  
"SG-1 will be gating to P3X892 at 0900 hours. This is a first contact situation, and the standard protocols are to be followed. The inhabitants appear to have a rough technological parity with us and are willing to consider a treaty and possible exchange of technology. Dr. Jackson has been in contact with them over the past several days. Dr. Jackson.."   
  
Jackson addressed his teammates. "The Sarini seem to have been isolated from the rest of the Stargate network for some time. Stories of the Goa'uld are almost apocryphal, and they viewed their gate as nothing more than an archeological curiosity. Needless to say, they were a little surprised when it suddenly came to life in a museum. I've had some fascinating conversations with some of the museum staff and a few government scientist. It seems that the Sarini are a matriarchal society along the lines of certain Native American...."   
  
He was interrupted by O'Neill. "Daniel, could we just stick to the point."   
  
"Sorry. As the General just said, the Sarini are at about our level of technology. However, their material sciences appear to be a little ahead of ours. They are at least willing to at least entertain the idea of sharing."   
  
"And what exactly do they want in return?" asked O'Neill.   
  
"Basically, they want help with some reactor design issues. Sam knows the details."   
  
"Well, sir, I've seen the reactor schematics they sent through in the last transmission, and there are a number of improvements we can suggest. They also have some problems with fuel extraction. We could do some straight trading there. We might also consider sharing the portable Naquadah reactor design, assuming relations with the Sarini stabilize over time."   
  
Gen. Hammond ended the discussion there. "Those details will be worked out in due course. Right now, we just want a friendly first contact. Are there any other question?"   
  
"Seems straightforward enough, sir," said O'Neill.   
  
"Very well then. Dismissed."   
  
No sooner had Gen. Hammond ended the meeting than the familiar sound of klaxons rang through the SGC. As quickly made their way to the control room and saw a small gray figure standing before the Stargate. The being stood motionless, oblivious to the marines who had trained their M16's on him and to the two 50 caliber machine guns permanently installed on either side of the gate. SG-1 and Gen. Hammond entered the gate room and approached the silent figure.   
  
Col. O'Neill was the first to speak. "Thor, buddy, long time no see. I don't suppose you decided to take me up on that fishing trip?"   
  
"No O'Neill, that is not my purpose here."   
  
"It's something bad, isn't it?" Turning to his teammates, he added, "It's always something bad."   
  
The General spoke. "What can we do for you, Thor?"   
  
"I require assistance from O'Neill and his team. This is a matter of concern not only for us but for you as well."   
  
--------------------   
  
Somewhere in the Uncharted Territories.   
  
"I still can't believe this frelling enormous stone wheel is a means of transport?"   
  
"That's what our hosts seem to think, Aeryn, and I'm inclined to agree with them. Every time they feed some power to this thing, they seem to get some really weird quantum phenomena. You've seen the readouts. You can't deny that they look an awful lot like what Pilot recorded when I first got out here."   
  
"So this thing might be your way home." She said this quietly but Crichton heard the apprehension in her voice. Aeryn no longer made any attempt to put up the Peacekeeper faOade when they were alone, but she hoped that her insecurities weren't too obvious. John wrapped his arms around Aeryn and pulled her close. She leaned into him without resistance.   
  
"Aeryn, this may not be anything. Even if we get it working, I'm certainly not about to step through into who knows what. I'm just hoping to get some information. Maybe I can use something I learn here to figure out how to make a wormhole back to Earth. And Aeryn, whatever happens, you know I'm not going anywhere alone. Right?"   
  
He waited for her to response, and was rewarded after a few moments with a barely perceptible nod of the head. Crichton knew that on some basic level, Aeryn still didn't believe that he could give up a chance to go home just for her. He had said it often enough, and she said she believed him, but he knew that some part of her refused to accept that she was worth the sacrifice. He just didn't know how to convince her.   
  
They had arrived on this planet a weeken earlier, had managed a few useful trades, and had tried in vain to find some map fibers to their respective homeworlds. It was just another stop in their ongoing journey. That is until Crichton stumbled onto a conversation with a local scientist a few arns before their intended departure.   
  
He learned that a strange artefact had recently been discovered at an archeological dig. It resembled a device mentioned in local legends, a portal that allowed instantaneous travel across the stars. Crichton was immediately interested and managed after a while to convince his new friend to give him access to the object.   
  
For once, they were relatively safe and he felt comfortable enough to indulge his natural curiosity. The Peacekeepers, the Scarrens and the Nebari were not an immediate problem. This planet was part of a small alliance of a few dozen worlds which guarded its autonomy fiercely. The region of space was of no strategic value to any of the larger powers, and the alliance was just well enough armed to make conquest more of a nuisance than it was worth. Crichton had called them the Balkans of the Uncharted Territories, earning the usual looks from his shipmates. Aeryn had asked about it later, as she often did nowadays whenever the subject of Earth came up. Crichton hadn't failed to notice and was thrilled that she might at least be thinking of Earth as part of her future.   
  
Moya needed some simple repairs to her amnexus system, and Pilot had informed them that the necessary resources were available on another planet within the alliance about two weekens distant by conventional Hetch drive travel. It was decided that the delay would be worth the effort given the uncertainty associated with starburst.   
  
On returning to Moya, Crichton insisted that he wasn't needed for this trip and that they could come back and pick him up in a few weekens. He expected and got an argument but eventually won the others over, as he usually did. More precisely, he won over everyone but Aeryn, who hadn't needed much winning over in the first place. As expected, she had insisted on staying with him.   
  
Ever since their relationship had taken the inevitable step forward, Aeryn had learned to drop her guard with Crichton, but usually only in private. When the others were around, she was sometimes as reserved as when they had first met. He knew how much he loved her and was fairly certain that she loved him just as much, but even after two cycles together, there were still cultural gaps to overcome. Crichton accepted this. He would not jeopardize the most important relationship of his life by pushing her on matters that really didn't matter anyway. There had been problems after Aeryn's "death", and they had been separated for a time when Aeryn joined Crais on Talyn. Crichton tried not to dwell on that, and he knew that Aeryn was uncomfortable discussing it with him. She had said all that she needed to say just once upon her return, and there was a silent agreement between them that the incident was best left in the past.   
  
As he stood holding Aeryn in the chamber with the alien device, his new friend, Celas, walked in on them. Aeryn pulled back a little, and Crichton let her go. Celas was a likeable fellow. He was young and had never been off world, and as Crichton realized within the first few minutes of their first conversation, he was a brilliant. Between the two of them, they rapidly came to a set of conclusions about the portal that neither would likely have made alone in so short a time.   
  
"John, Aeryn, we're just about ready for the first test. Let's see if your idea about the icons representing a coordinate system amounts to anything."  
  
"Have you picked an address from the list yet?", asked Crichton, referring to the inscriptions found near the portal.   
  
"We're just going to start with the first and work our way down until something happens."   
  
With that, they moved into the control chamber, powered up the portal and began moving the circular device. All eyes were on the device as the last symbol in the first address was entered.   
  
Absolutely nothing happened.   
  
"That was absolutely thrilling," Aeryn said with more than a hint of sarcasm.   
  
This earned her a slight smile from Crichton and a collection of very annoyed looks from everyone else.   
  
"What now?" Crichton asked Celas.   
  
He took a moment to look at some instrument readings. "We need to power the device down for a few arns. The energy consumption was much higher than we had expected. When we're ready, we'll try the next address and keep going."   
  
"Aeryn and I are going to get something to eat. See you in a couple of arns."   
  
As they left the building, Aeryn hesitantly asked Crichton if he was disappointed.   
  
"Not really. Unlike our young friend in there, I wasn't expecting much to happen. Besides, it takes a lot to disappoint me these days, now that I've got you." With that, he pulled her into a kiss.   
  
--------------------   
  
Thor had accompanied Gen. Hammond and SG-1 to the conference room.   
  
"For the past several days, the Asgard have been detecting attempts to open a wormhole from a location well outside the active gate network. We have identified the planet of origin and our records indicate that there is a Stargate present on this world. However, the race that originally used the gate has long since died out."  
  
O'Neill spoke up. "So what's the problem. Somebody inherited the gate, and they're trying to get it to work. That's what we did."   
  
"The problem, O'Neill, is the region of space in which this gate is located. There are several hostile species in that area. None are as technologically advanced as the Goa'uld, but what they lack in sophistication, they make up for in organization and numbers, and unlike the Goa'uld, none of them are crippled by factionalism."   
  
"You said that there was a threat to us? Lots of nasty folks have Stargates, what's so special about these."   
  
"Approximately four years ago, we detected another wormhole with one terminal point in this general region of space. The other terminal point was Earth."   
  
"We've had our Stargate under constant observations for much longer than that. There hasn't been any unaccounted gate activity."   
  
"That may be so, O'Neill, but this wormhole was not between two Stargates. It was free standing."   
  
"Wait, that's impossible," said Carter. "Even if you could open a wormhole without a Stargate, there would be no way to control the endpoint. It could end up anywhere."   
  
"That is not quite true, Major Carter. However, neither you nor any of the inhabitants of the region under question should have the ability to create a controlled wormhole in this fashion. The power expenditure associated with directing such a wormhole is well beyond your means and theirs."   
  
The General spoke next. "But the coincidence is too much to ignore. First an uncontrolled wormhole where there shouldn't be one, then gate activity where it shouldn't exist, and Earth is tied in somehow. What do you want from us, Thor?"   
  
"As you know, our resources are stretched to the limit. We also lack practical experience in this sort of exploration. SG-1 does not. We would like you to travel to this Stargate and attempt to assess the situation."   
  
"Sounds reasonable. You give us the address and off we go," said O'Neill.   
  
"It is not quite that simple. As I said, the planet under question is well outside the active gate network. It is within your galaxy, but you must still enter more than seven gate symbols to activate the wormhole."   
  
"The last time we did something like that, we needed more power than we can normally generate."   
  
"That is the case now as well, Major Carter. As such, I will supply you with a device that will both power and dial your Stargate and enable your return. It is likely that no one on the other side will be able to generate the power to send you back to Earth. The device will only dial between Earth and the other gate and you will only be supplied with one. We wish to minimize the possibility of having this technology compromised. Please keep in mind that in all likelihood, it is your only way home."  
  
With that he handed Carter a small, crystalline device.   
  
"You're kidding. This thing generates more power than a Naquadah reactor? What does it use as a power source."   
  
"It is something akin to what you call zero point energy. The details are beyond your ability to understand."   
  
"Thanks a lot," said Carted under her breath.   
  
A few hours later SG-1 was properly equipped and ready to depart. Carter touched the single mark on the device Thor had given them and pointed it at the Stargate as instructed. The normal dialing procedure was bypassed, and the wormhole just formed spontaneously. SG-1 stepped through.   
  
--------------------   
  
Crichton and Aeryn were back in the portal chamber. Celas was taking readings near the device when something quite unexpected happened. What looked like a geyser shot out of disk and enveloped Celas. The geyser receded and it looked as if a standing pool of water had formed inside the ring. Nothing remained of Celas.   
  
Before anyone had a chance to react to that shock, four figures suddenly stepped through the portal. Two pulse pistols instantly went up, one slightly before the other. Almost as fast, a pair of identical weapons and a third resembling a staff were leveled.   
  
"O.K. everyone, let's just stay calm. My name is Col. Jack O'Neill. We are here on a peaceful mission. We are not a threat to you."   
  
Major Carter spoke next, and what she said came as a surprise to everyone including herself.   
  
"John? John Crichton?"   
  
Crichton looked at the woman who had just addressed him, and recognition dawned on him.   
  
"Samantha!?"   
  
All eyes were now on Crichton, whose face had taken on a look of utter disbelief mixed with a trace of hope.   
  
If anyone had bothered to look at Aeryn before she had a chance to set the mask firmly in place, they would have seen confusion, fear and intense possessiveness.   
  
--------------------   
  
The two small parties remained staring at each other with weapons drawn, oblivious to the local scientists running for cover and to the alarm that one of them had had the presence of mind to sound.  
  
O'Neill broke the silence. "Carter, care to introduce us to your friend."   
  
"Sir, it looks like John Crichton," she said, the confusion evident in her voice.   
  
"What, the astronaut who died in that accident? Don't mean to contradict you, Carter, but he looks pretty lively for a corpse."   
  
"We were friends, sir. I know Crichton and that looks just like him."   
  
Aeryn glanced at Crichton and was worried by the look of shock on his face. She spoke as much to snap him out of it as to assess the situation. "Crichton, what the frell is going on? Do you know these people?"   
  
That brought him back to his senses, and he looked back at her. "I don't know, Aeryn. They look and sound like they're from Earth, and the woman looks like someone I knew, but I've been down that road before."   
  
"You think this is some sort of deception?"   
  
Ignoring Aeryn, Crichton addressed the familiar looking woman. "If you're Samantha Carter, what's your father's first name, and what does he do for a living? Who taught you QFT in grad. school?"   
  
Carter composed her thoughts for a moment before answering.   
  
"Jacob, he was an Air Force general the last time you saw him. We took Fell's class together. He screwed up the derivation of Dirac's equation and you called him on it. He made the rest of the semester a living hell for you. John, is that really you? How can you be out here? You were killed when the Farscape mission failed."   
  
Crichton refused to give in to hope just yet. After having more people than he cared to count frell with his mind over the past four and a half years, he knew that a disappointment of this magnitude would be dangerous.   
  
"I'll grant you this much. If you're a fake, you're a good one."   
  
Aeryn now addressed the group facing them. "Look, I don't know who the frell you are, but if you don't mean us any harm, prove it. Lower your weapons."   
  
The response was four sets of blank stares.   
  
"Uh...pardon me. What did she just say?" Jackson asked Crichton.   
  
"You heard her."   
  
"Yes, I heard her, but I didn't understand her. It sounds vaguely Khoisan, but it's definitely not anything I've heard before. Teal'c?"   
  
"I too am unfamiliar with this language, Daniel Jackson."   
  
Now that he had fallen into a skeptical stance, Crichton wouldn't budge easily. "Nice touch. Very well done. Whoever prepared you did a fine job."   
  
O'Neill was starting to become frustrated. "Look no one prepared us for anything. We're from Earth. I don't know if you're John Crichton or not, but we are not a threat to you. So why don't we just..."   
  
Before he could complete the thought, several heavily armed local troops stormed the portal chamber from both entrances. They quickly took up position around Crichton, Aeryn and SG-1. The soldiers were followed by someone in uniform who was evidently in charge.   
  
"You will all lower your weapons immediately and allow my men to disarm you, or I will order them to open fire."   
  
"Daniel?"   
  
"I don't know what he said, Jack, but I have a couple of guesses. I think it might be a good idea to put the guns away."   
  
"I got that much myself. O.k. people, lower your weapons slowly. Let's cooperate with the nice men with the big guns."   
  
Two of the soldiers advanced on SG-1 and took their weapons and equipment. Another approached Crichton and Aeryn. Crichton handed over his weapon without comment, but Aeryn looked ready for a fight.   
  
"Aeryn, don't. It won't do us any good. Please." The note of pleading in his voice was clear to everyone who heard it.   
  
Aeryn hesitated for a moment then flipped her weapon around and let the soldier take it.   
  
The man in charge spoke again. "I am Captain Tor Preval of the Brinisi militia. You are all under arrest pending investigation of the death of Head Researcher Ceral Kais and for unspecified threats to the Alliance of Worlds."   
  
With that, he lead the group of six out of the building at gunpoint. They were herded into a ground vehicle and taken to some sort of military base. After what seemed to be the usual sort of bureaucratic procedures common to all sentient species, they found themselves in a sterile, gray chamber with benches attached to the floor serving as the only furniture. The six immediately segregated themselves into two groups of two and four.   
  
Crichton had become quiet and faced the wall at one corner of the cell, refusing to look at SG-1. Aeryn stood close by, placing herself between him and the others in a blatantly defensive posture. The remaining four found themselves gathered in the opposite corner. They had learned of Ceral's death from Crichton during their trip to the base, and were quietly coming to terms with their inadvertent part in it.   
  
--------------------   
  
Security specialists interviewed the scientists and technicians who had witnessed Ceral's death. No one paid much attention to one fairly innocuous and heartbroken junior tech named Sa'di. Beyond the fact that she had apparently been involved with Ceral, there was nothing to distinguish her. She said she had seen nothing and was quickly dismissed so that she might grieve in private. When it came to security, Brinisa prided itself on it's paranoia, but not even their well trained experts thought anything of the quiet tech.   
  
Later that evening, after making sure that she was unobserved, the woman who called herself Sa'di made her way to a well-scouted clearing outside the city limits. Had anyone attempted to follow her, they would have been hard pressed to keep up with the circuitous route she took. No one had any reason to try anyway.   
  
Following a quick reconnaissance of the area, she removed the heal from her shoe and a pin from her hair. She placed the pin in the detached heal and turned it. The device emitted a hissing noise and appeared to do little else. However, she was now secure from electronic or audio surveillance. The device would ignite and destroy itself in a few microts so she had to act fast. She took a small knife, made a clean incision in her left forearm and removed a small metal cylinder. The liner implanted in her arm, in which the cylinder had been placed, released an antibiotic agent which immediately sealed and cauterized the wound, leaving a scar as if from a simple burn.  
  
The woman touched a button at the top of the cylinder and began to speak into it.   
  
"Serina Calis, Disruptor, 12th Directorate, filing one time special report. Mark for immediate attention: Weapons Research Division. Begin report: The Brinisi have succeeded in activating the portal device and have apparently opened a wormhole. Further, fugitive John Crichton is directly involved. He and a group of off worlders who arrived via the wormhole are under Brinisi custody. Recommendation: The presence of this working device warrants a more aggressive attitude toward the Brinisi. I maintain my cover and await further instructions."   
  
Calis touched a second button on the cylinder, and three small rods protruded from one end, forming a tripod. She placed the device on the ground, and walked away quickly. The cylinder shot straight up and began to accelerate. It was too small and too well shielded for detection by standard Brinisi scans. After escaping from the planet's gravity well, the device would align itself and point at a small relay satellite outside the Brinisi system. The short recorded message would be relayed to the satellite by laser link, and the cylinder would then explode, leaving no trace.   
  
She headed back to the city and tried to decide how best to proceed. If she could get to him, she had at least one powerful weapon against Crichton, her feigned grief. He was exactly the sort to let sympathy blind him. Aeryn Sun was another matter, but Serina was confident that she could deal with the former Peacekeeper.   
  
--------------------   
  
Detention Center, Brinisi Military Base   
  
John's initial shock had begun to wear off soon after their incarceration, and his skepticism had started to recede as he listened to their captors' questioning of SG-1. In his capacity as their interpreter, he was present throughout. Still, he was not ready to take the necessarily leap of faith and ignored any attempts by his fellow humans to engage him in private. After Carter tried unsuccessfully to talk to him a couple of times, Aeryn put an end to any further attempts at communication. SG-1 couldn't understand her, but there was no doubt about her intent when she planted herself firmly between Crichton and the others and allowed no one to approach him.   
  
The two small groups remained separated for the rest of the night.   
  
"John, do you really think this is all a trick?"   
  
"I don't know, Aeryn. I don't know what to think. Everything seems so right. It's not like what the ancients did, or that Scarren. I don't think this is all in my head this time."  
  
"I'm not in your frelling head, Crichton," Aeryn said with mock severity.   
  
He smiled weakly at that.   
  
"Besides, I know Sam, and I don't know how anyone could get her so close. Scorpy couldn't have pulled that much information on her out of my head. She had no connection to what I knew about wormholes."   
  
Crichton was a little too focused on his hold on sanity to notice Aeryn's distinct discomfort every time he mentioned Samantha Carter.   
  
"So....how do you know this woman? I mean the real one, assuming that's not her over there."   
  
Now it was Crichton's turn to be slightly uncomfortable.   
  
"Well, we were at MIT together for a while." Anticipating Aeryn's question, he finished, "We did some of our scientific training together. And we were ... friends."   
  
Aeryn noticed his slight hesitation. "Friends? Just how friendly were you?"   
  
"Uh...we dated for a while. I explained what that means to you, right?"   
  
"You and she were intimate?"   
  
Crichton had decided some time ago that he would never lie to Aeryn, at least not if he could help it. Their relationship was complicated enough with adding extra layers of complexity. So he answered as simply as possible. "Yes."   
  
Aeryn took a few moments to absorb this new information. "How long were you together?"   
  
"We were at school together for about a year...cycle. We were .... together for maybe half that time."   
  
"Half a cycle?" Aeryn was suddenly grateful that the other humans could not understand her, because she had said this loudly enough to draw all eyes in the room to her.   
  
"Half a cycle." She repeated much more quietly. She knew about Alex, but was unprepared for this new revelation, especially when the woman in question was standing a few hentas away, still looking at her. Prior to Crichton, Aeryn's idea of a long term relationship had been three or four weekens, and she had only been involved in one of those.   
  
"Aeryn, it was a long time ago, and it ended a long time before I got out here." He took her hand an pulled her a little closer. "I love you and only you Aeryn. That's never going to change."   
  
Aeryn nodded her head but found that all the insecurities that she had spent the past two cycles burying had suddenly roared back to life. For a few microts, all she could think was, *Another frelling blonde*.   
  
For his part, Crichton was almost grateful that he had just been given something other than his mental state to worry about. Almost.   
  
--------------------   
  
On the other side of the room, the members of SG-1 were engaged in quiet conversation.   
  
"So you think that's really John Crichton," O'Neill asked Carter.   
  
"Yes, sir. We were at MIT together when I was finishing up my doctoral work. We dated for a few months. If that's not him, it's a perfect replica."   
  
"So assuming it's really him, we need to get him to believe who we are. Right now, he's our only way of communicating with the locals. Why is that, anyway? Any ideas?"   
  
Daniel responded. "We know that most of the transplanted humans we encounter have self- replicating nanites in the communication centers of their brains. They allow some sort of action-at- a-distance, two-way translation, even when only one person has them. Dr. Crichton mentioned something about being injected with translator microbes when he first arrived out here. I imagine they work the same way but in only one direction."   
  
"So how come Teal'c doesn't understand anyone either?"   
  
"I am at a loss, O'Neill. It may be that the nanotechnology that allows me to communicate with you interacts in some unexpected way with these translator microbes. Perhaps they are incompatible."   
  
"Jack, this brings up some interesting questions about this area of space. The nanites predate the Goa'uld and seem to be everywhere. Why not out here? Especially since it seems clear that humans have been transplanted out here too. Just look at Crichton's friend."   
  
"She certainly seems territorial about him, doesn't she? " said Carter.   
  
"Jack, this is a prime opportunity. We need to find out exactly how these people got out here and what connection they have to the race that used this planet's gate."   
  
"Later, Daniel. Our first priority is to convince these people we mean no them harm. Well, aside from accidentally vaporizing one of their scientists. We need to get our equipment back and get back to the gate."   
  
That effectively ended the conversation. The rest of the night passed quietly, but no one got much sleep.   
  
By the following morning, the Brinisi security forces had finished their preliminary investigation and concluded that Crichton and Aeryn had played no part in the death of Ceral. They also realized that SG-1's part in his death had been unintentional. However, they were not yet ready to release any of them, partly because the sudden reality of gate travel needed further consideration and partly because they needed to better assess what threat, if any, Earth and humans posed. All six remained in custody for the time being.  
  
With the morning came an abrupt change in John Crichton. He had gotten over his hesitation and period of dazed introspection. He walked straight up to SG-1, surprising Aeryn with the suddenness of his move, and said,   
  
"O.k.. If you really are who you say you are, can you get me back to Earth?"   
  
The question was addressed to them all, but Crichton was staring straight at Samantha Carter when he asked, almost daring her to end the illusion and reveal herself as a fraud. However, it was O'Neill who answered.   
  
"Of course we can take you back, but we need your help first. We need you to convince our hosts that we aren't a threat to them. Get our equipment back for us, and we can take you home."   
  
Aeryn listened to this exchange with a totally blank expression, but her eyes betrayed a deep sadness. For an instant, she thought that her worst fear about John had just been realized, that when it came time to choose he would abandon her for a chance to go home. He had told her otherwise countless times, and the rational part of her trusted him, but her thoughts at the moment were far from rational. Had they been, she would have been at least a little better prepared for what he said next.   
  
"What about Aeryn? I'm not going anywhere without her."   
  
She was grateful that everyone was focused on Crichton. It gave her the time to hide the look of utter panic that she knew was on her face. At the moment, she didn't know what to think. For someone who had spent most of her life suppressing her emotions, the sudden onslaught was nearly overwhelming. She was simultaneously overjoyed, terrified and a little resentful that Crichton had presumed to include her in this without asking first. She couldn't blame him for it. She knew that he was going through his own set of conflicting and confusing feelings and probably wasn't thinking all that clearly.  
  
"We can take her with us. She'll be confined to the base for a little while, but I give you my word that she won't be harmed in any way."  
  
"I don't know you, and I don't know what your word means." This was again said with an eye towards Carter.   
  
"The colonel is telling you the truth, John. You don't need to worry about your friend. She'll be safe. Trust me."   
  
That sounded so much like the Samantha Carter he knew, that for the first time since all this had started, Crichton was beginning to believe.   
  
"Is that really you, Sam?"   
  
She smiled at him. "It's me John. I can't believe I'm actually talking to you."  
  
"You thought I was dead. Everyone thinks I'm dead." After a short pause, he continued. "Do you know how my dad is doing?"   
  
"I called him after you were .... after we thought you were killed. He took it really hard, John. I've been in touch with DK a couple of times since then. It took him, your dad and your sisters a long time to get over it."   
  
John shut his eyes trying to ignore the feelings of guilt. He knew that he wasn't responsible for the pain he had caused his family and friends, but that didn't help how he felt. He knew all about guilt. The period immediately after Aeryn's revival over two years earlier had been hard, and it had taken him a long time for him to forgive himself for that. At least he was certain this wouldn't be as bad.   
  
"Well, maybe I can finally start to make it up to them." The look Carter gave him was less than reassuring. "What's wrong? Are they o.k.?"   
  
"Your family is fine, but there's a problem." She hesitated.   
  
O'Neill finished for her. "Crichton, the Stargate project is classified at about as high a level as it gets. The whole world saw you die. We can't just have you reappear without explaining how. There would be too many people pushing too hard for information, and sooner or later, someone would find it. I'm afraid you won't be allowed to have any contact with anyone from your past."  
  
The disappointment Crichton was certain he would face if he started to believe what his eyes were telling him was now replaced by a completely different and unexpected sort of disappointment.   
  
"My dad's a retired Air Force colonel. He..."   
  
Carter cut him off. "It doesn't matter, John. The Stargate is a matter of national .... worldwide security really. We have made some very unpleasant enemies over the past few years, and we can't afford to take any risks. Your dad isn't going to get clearance. Believe me, I know from personal experience."   
  
Crichton didn't say another word. He just walked back to the corner of the room where Aeryn was still standing. The others knew instinctively that he needed time to absorb what he had just learned and that now was not the time to approach him.   
  
Aeryn didn't know what to do or how to comfort him. So she just sat close to him, with their shoulders touching, waiting for him to speak and letting him know that she was there for him. It was more comfort than she could have known. It always had been. They sat like that for what seemed like arns, although Aeryn knew it couldn't have been that long, when Crichton suddenly spoke.   
  
"What do you want to do?"   
  
"What do you mean?"   
  
"We could go to Earth, be safe. I think that's really Sam, and I trust her. They won't hurt either of us."   
  
"It's what you've wanted for over four cycles, John."   
  
"I wanted to go home. Home is the people I left behind, the life I knew. They're offering me the chance to go to Earth, not the chance to go home."   
  
Aeryn was silent. She thought she understood all this but only on an intellectual level. Home for her had always been her current assignment. There had never been permanency in her life of the type Crichton missed. Although if she had thought just a little harder, she would have realized that perhaps she understood better than she allowed herself to believe.   
  
"So what do you want to do?"   
  
Almost without thinking, she said, "Would you be asking me that if you could go back to your old life?"   
  
At the look of pain Crichton shot her, Aeryn immediately regretted her words. After all, hadn't he just said that he wasn't leaving her before learning about the conditions attached to a return to Earth?  
  
"I'm sorry, John. I just ..." She didn't know how to continue.   
  
Crichton took her hand in his. "I told you I would never leave you, Aeryn. I meant it."   
  
Aeryn tried to lighten the mood. "How am I supposed to know what you mean, human. I don't think even you understand half of what you say."   
  
To Aeryn's relief, It worked. It was a great comfort to Crichton that regardless of whatever else happened, Aeryn was still Aeryn.   
  
He smiled at her. "That's just part of my charm. Besides, I thought you liked listening to me babble."   
  
She smiled back, grateful that they could so easily fall back into their usual pattern of give and take. They sat in silence for a while longer, each thinking of the possibilities the four people sitting across the room offered.  
  
"So, for the third time, what do you want to do?"   
  
"I think we should worry about our immediate problem for now. We need to get out of here. Once we're no longer confined, we can talk about our next move."   
  
She paused for a moment, searching for the right way to express her next thought. "I won't lie to you, John. I have misgivings about trusting these people, no matter how well you know that woman. Still, I do want to see your Earth. You spend enough time talking about it. I probably already know more about it than most humans."   
  
"Yeah, you're right. We should focus on getting out of here. So, Miss Earth Expert, what do you know about ...."   
  
--------------------   
  
Samantha Carter got up from her seat at the opposite end of the cell and approached Aeryn and Crichton. Aeryn immediately went into Peacekeeper intimidation mode, but Carter put up her hands as if to indicate that she meant no harm. She spoke to Crichton.   
  
"You feel like talking?"   
  
"Have a seat." he said, pointing to the bench opposite the one on which he and Aeryn were sitting. "I guess we have some catching up to do."   
  
"We do at that. Aren't you going to introduce us?" Carter said, indicating Aeryn.   
  
"Of course, where are my manners. Sam, meet Officer Aeryn Sun, formerly of the Peacekeeper military. Aeryn, Samantha Carter, United States Air Force."   
  
He knew he was being a little obnoxious and that Sam had done nothing to deserve it, but the events of the past day and a half had taken their toll, and he wasn't about to censor himself now. Besides, there was still the nagging insecurity about whether any of this was really happening. Aeryn would pay him no mind, or so he thought, but Carter was visibly taken aback. Her memories of John Crichton were over four years old and more than a little out of synch with what events had made him since then.  
  
Aeryn spoke to Crichton in a near whisper. "She's a soldier? I thought she was a scientist like you."   
  
"She's both. Sam always was an overachiever." He glanced at Aeryn, and noticed that she seemed a little troubled. He had gotten good at reading her, but was at a loss this time.   
  
Carter smiled and nodded to Aeryn, who, rather than returning the gesture, continued to glare at her.   
  
"Don't mind Aeryn, she doesn't make friends too easily."   
  
Carter decided to ignore the attitude from both of them and pressed on. "How did you get out here, John? IASA lost track of your ship when it went out of control during the slingshot. What happened."   
  
"The maneuver opened a wormhole somehow and I ended up here. Where is here exactly? Any idea?"   
  
Carter answered Crichton's question almost absent-mindedly. "We're almost exactly opposite our own spiral arm along a diameter through the galactic center." She continued. "What do you mean your slingshot maneuver opened a wormhole? Nothing on Farscape could have generated that kind of power."   
  
"I don't know, Sam. It happened and here I am. What about you? How did you get involved with this Stargate thing?"   
  
They spent the next quarter hour quickly summarizing for each other the very strange direction each of their lives had taken. Each of them made an effort to edit out certain items, neither completely ready to trust the other just yet. Aeryn occasionally made a quiet comment or asked a question of John, but for the most part, she remained silent.   
  
As the conversation continued and started to venture into topics about which Aeryn knew nothing, she became increasingly ill at ease. Crichton was too absorbed in talking to the first human he had seen in four years, and a friend at that, to notice. Carter did notice.   
  
She had taken a fairly easy liking to Aeryn Sun. Even before John gave her a brief rundown of how Aeryn came to be aboard Moya, it was evident that she was not someone to be taken lightly. Carter knew instinctively that Aeryn was capable of instant, cold-blooded violence. However, it was obvious almost from the outset that she was more than a comrade or friend to John, and Carter hadn't failed to notice how worried she seemed about him and how protective of him she was. *At least his taste is improving,* she thought.   
  
"So, did you go to my funeral?" It was a morbid question, but Crichton was curious.   
  
"Yeah, I did. It was a pretty big deal. Twenty-one gun salute, F16's flying the missing man formation, lots of brass, some politicians."   
  
Aeryn had no idea what any of that meant, but she understood that it had to be fairly exceptional. "You never told me you were that important on your world."   
  
"I'm not. There wasn't anything unusual about me, just the way I 'died'. I'll explain later."   
  
"What did Aeryn say?"   
  
"It doesn't matter."   
  
That was it. She had been feeling left out and ignored, but that was her problem. She would not, however, be dismissed out of hand like this. She elbowed Crichton hard.   
  
"Ow. What was that for?"   
  
Carter gave Aeryn a look of sympathy and said, "Nice to know some things never change. I see he can still be a jackass sometimes."   
  
Aeryn almost gave in to the urge to smile but managed to contain herself. She did, however, nod back at Carter. It was the first meaningful communication she had had with any human beside John Crichton. She decided then and there that this Major Carter might not be so bad after all.   
  
"What did I do?"   
  
"Never mind. I'm sure Aeryn will explain to you later."   
  
"Yes. I most certainly will."   
  
Crichton looked a little bewildered, but he continued. "So you were telling me about my funeral. Who else showed up?"   
  
"Well, your family and DK were there of course. Some friends of yours I didn't know. Lots of people from IASA, NASA, JPL." She paused for a second. "Alex was there too."   
  
Both Aeryn's and Crichton's heads snapped to attention at the mention of that name.   
  
"Alex. I guess I should have expected her to show. How is she?"   
  
"Same as always. Even at your funeral, she had to be the center of attention. She made a point of letting us all know how much more deeply she felt your loss than any of the rest of us."   
  
"You never liked her."   
  
"I told you as much to your face once. I remember it almost wrecked our friendship."   
  
Crichton nodded, not wanting to pursue the topic any further. Aeryn decided that Major Carter definitely wasn't all that bad.   
  
"Sorry to interrupt, but we need to talk," said O'Neill who had walked over from his seat on the far side of the room.   
  
"We need to decide what to tell the ... what are they called?"   
  
"Brinisi," three voices responded in chorus.   
  
"Yeah, whatever. You understand them. Where do we stand?"   
  
"I think they believe us," said Crichton. "At least I think they believe that Aeryn and I had nothing to do with Ceral. They strike me as pretty reasonable, at least by Uncharted Territories standards, so I'm guessing they'll conclude the same about you guys."   
  
"O.k., but we need to be prepared in case things don't go our way. Daniel, Teal'c, get over here. Let's see what we know."   
  
--------------------  
  
After checking the cell for surveillance devices and finding nothing obvious, the next arn was spent in quickly and quietly reviewing their position, what each of them had seen of the base, any tactical advantages they might have and any weaknesses in Brinisi security or procedures they had noticed. Aeryn was impressed. Four and a half cycles with John Crichton had not prepared her for this level of military professionalism from humans. Neither had her brief experience on the false Earth. Of course, she knew that the soldiers she encountered there were drawn from John's memories and impressions of the military and didn't necessarily reflect reality.   
  
She felt a slight sense of nostalgia. It had been a long time since she had participated in this sort of briefing. Still, this was different. There was an ease among the four humans that she had never seen in any Peacekeeper unit. She also noticed that the human in charge, Col. O'Neill, managed to command respect without the bullying she was used to from her own superiors.   
  
Late that afternoon, they were treated to another round of interrogations, after which it seemed the Brinisi had finally satisfied themselves. They appeared to accept that the best course of action was to set the humans on their way and see to it that the Stargate was sealed up. The humans had actually suggested burying it after their departure to prevent any possible use.   
  
Prior to any release the Brinisi insisted that the members of SG-1 undergo medical examinations, DNA cataloguing and scans for possible contaminants. This was standard procedure on this security conscious world, and Crichton and Aeryn had already gone through it upon their arrival. In the excitement and confusion following the unexpected gate activation, no one had bothered to do the same with the others until now.   
  
SG-1 had been taken to a medical facility on the base, and Crichton and Aeryn found themselves alone for the first time in nearly two days. As they waited for the return of their four cellmates, Crichton took the opportunity afforded by their solitude to put his arm around Aeryn and draw her close. She leaned her head against his shoulder, enjoying a few moments of quiet closeness with him that hadn't been possible in front of the other humans.   
  
John broke the silence. "It looks like the Brinisi are going to let us go without any hassle. They seem pretty satisfied with what O'Neill and his people said. Maybe we should talk about what to do next, before they get back."   
  
He waited for Aeryn to say something, but she just kept leaning against him and remained quiet. "Aeryn?"   
  
"You've been through a lot in two days, John. I just wish I could do something to help .... to make this easier for you."   
  
"You're here? That's enough. Besides, this hasn't exactly been easy on you. It's a lot to take in." He looked Aeryn in the eye and said with as much confidence as he could muster, "You will fit in just fine on Earth, Aeryn, and I'll be there with you every step of the way."   
  
"So you've decided? You want to go with them, even though you can never see your father or your sisters or anyone from your old life?"   
  
"Well, there's always hope. Maybe they'll change their minds and at least give my dad clearance. Or maybe I can find a way to contact him or DK without them finding out. Even if I can't do any of that, at least we'll be safe. No more running. No more Scorpius. But to answer your question, no I haven't decided. It isn't my place to decide. We're in this together. I want us to go with them, but we won't if you don't want to risk it."  
  
Aeryn wasn't sure whether to be happy or angry. "So you're putting the whole thing on me? What happens if I say no? You're going to resent me for the rest of your life."   
  
"I know it's not fair, Aeryn, but that's the way it is, and I'm not going to resent a thing. You're not forcing anything on me. I'm the one forcing a decision on you. And I promise you that whatever you decide, I'll be fine with it. All that matters is that we're together, on Earth or out here or wherever."   
  
Aeryn could hear the unwavering certainty in what he said, but she needed to know something else. "John, I asked you this before and I am ashamed to ask you again, but I need an answer. What if you could go back to your old life. Would you even be asking me what I want?" She had expected to see the same hurt that she had seen the last time, but instead he just smiled at her.   
  
"I won't deny that I'd probably be pushing a little, maybe a lot, harder to convince you to go to Earth, but it wouldn't change anything else. John Crichton has his priorities straight, and you, Miss Sun, are at the head of the list. Nothing matters to me as much as you do, Aeryn."  
  
For the first time out of the countless times he had said just that, Aeryn really believed him. Finding herself suddenly speechless but needing to express how much his words had meant to her, Aeryn leaned forward and kissed him lightly.   
  
She broke the kiss and remained silent for a few moments before saying, "So, Earth? I say we give it a try." Then she smirked at Crichton and said, "If nothing else, the last two days have shown me that not all human are like you. How bad could it be?"  
  
"Very funny," he said, then continued more seriously, "Are you sure, Aeryn?"   
  
Aeryn nodded, still smiling. "Yes, John. These people are nothing like what I expected. They seem serious and competent. I had assumed that all humans were overgrown children."   
  
"On behalf of overgrown children everywhere, I think I resent that."   
  
Aeryn's face took on a slightly different character as she continued. "That woman...Major Carter. You said that you and she were ... close?"   
  
"Yeah, we were. A long time ago." Crichton waited, not at all sure where this was going.   
  
"You told me your planet has a population of 6 billion. I assume half of them are female. How the frell does the one woman to step through that portal happen to be someone you were involved with?"   
  
"Well, it's not that unlikely if you think about it. There may be 3 billion or so women on Earth, but most of them aren't theoretical astrophysicists. Basically, the reason we met in the first place is the same reason she's on this Stargate project and I ended up out here."  
  
Aeryn had to accept that this made sense in terms of logic, but she preferred to think that it was just the universe displaying a twisted sense of humor at her expense. * What is it with Crichton and females? Other females,* she amended. She didn't count, of course.   
  
"She doesn't seem so bad. What happened? You told me that humans try to look for permanent relationships, lifelong mates. Why didn't it work out between you two?"   
  
"It was never that serious, Aeryn. We were a little young for the lifelong mates deal. Both of us were pretty focused on our work, and our relationship was always more of a friendship than anything else, even when things got a little more .... serious. Also, Sam was already in the Air Force. When she finished her work at MIT, she was reassigned."   
  
At least Aeryn understood that last part, although from a different and purely Peacekeeper perspective. "You remained friends?"   
  
"Yeah. We kept in touch over the years. We would call each other up every once in a while .... uh that means we would talk over something like comms."   
  
Aeryn still had some questions, but before she could pursue them, SG-1 was abruptly lead back into the cell. She pulled away from Crichton just a little, and he removed the hand that had been around her waist. Aeryn knew that this sort of reserve was unnatural for him and that he had done it solely to put her at ease. She flashed him a brief smile of gratitude before donning the neutral Peacekeeper mask.   
  
"I hate being poked and prodded. Fraser is bad enough, now I've got alien doctors doing it."   
  
"It wasn't all that bad, Jack. It is interesting that they keep such detailed records of off worlders. I imagine the political situation with these Peacekeepers contributes to some of that, but you have to wonder about the underlying sociological implications." Daniel Jackson looked around to find five totally blank faces. "Apparently you don't have to wonder about it that hard," he said under his breath.   
  
"Crichton, any idea what the situation is after that last Q&A session?"   
  
"I think they're about ready to let us, all of us, go? What do you think, Aeryn?"   
  
Only Crichton understood the response. "She thinks so too."   
  
"So I guess we just wait," said O'Neill.   
  
The next few hours were spent in casual conversation. Aeryn even joined in a few times with Crichton as interpreter. Crichton had lots of questions. Once he started, he found himself out of control, his mind wandering randomly from topic to topic.   
  
"So who won the last four Superbowls?"   
  
Aeryn interrupted before anyone could answer. "You keep going on about that. What the frell does it mean anyway?"   
  
"I thought I explained football to you."   
  
"You did, but it sounded ridiculous so I stopped paying attention."   
  
Crichton never did get his answer as the door to the cell opened and Captain Preval entered.   
  
He addressed Crichton and Aeryn, since they were the only ones who could understand him. "I have good news for you."  
  



	2. .

Having discovered the cause of both the gate activity on Brinisa and the unexplained free stranding wormholes, O'Neill concluded that there was no immediate threat. The Peacekeepers might have discovered the means to trigger a wormhole, courtesy of the chip extracted from Crichton's brain, although even that was uncertain, but they definitely had no way to control one. The gate itself was of little concern since only a very limited force could be sent through at a time, and Earth's gate was more than adequately defended against more serious threats than posed by anyone in the vicinity of Brinisa.   
  
SG-1 would return to Earth via the Stargate, and the Brinisi would bury the gate and destroy all records relating to its use. Crichton and his alien friend would either accompany them to Earth or remain behind as they chose. Since they were not due to return for four more days, and after much prodding from both Carter and Jackson, O'Neill relayed a request to the local authorities to do a bit of research.   
  
The Brinisi governing body decided that since the humans would have no way to return, they could collect and take with them what data and artifacts they wanted. Whatever was left behind would be destroyed before the gate was moved to some suitably isolated and secret location and permanently buried. The humans had explained that the gate itself would be nearly impossible to destroy.   
  
--------------------   
  
The recent guests of Brinisi security were now housed in fairly luxurious accommodations. Someone in the government had apparently taken it upon himself to make up for the previous few days. Crichton and Aeryn shared a room as always and were grateful for the opportunity to spend some time alone after their recent incarceration. O'Neill and Teal'c occupied themselves with exploring the city and at least trying to lay the groundwork for possible future contact with some polite, but very reluctant officials. After a fruitless day of this, O'Neill had essentially shifted into tourist mode and Teal'c took to meditating. Carter and Jackson spent almost all their time at the gate site. They were sometimes joined by Crichton, who was torn between his natural curiosity about the gate and a desire to make the most of some quiet time with Aeryn.   
  
The day before their intended departure, Crichton woke next to a still sleeping Aeryn. He paused for a moment to admire her beauty and to thank who or whatever had brought them together. Getting to this point had involved six kinds of hell, but he would do it all again for her.   
  
He kissed her on the cheek and gently nudged her shoulder. "Hey, rise and shine, sleepyhead."   
  
It didn't take much. A lifetime of conditioning meant that when Aeryn woke, she was instantly alert.   
  
"You feeling alright, sweetheart? You're usually up way before me."   
  
She smiled her most radiant smile at him. "I'm fine, John. Just feeling, I don't know .... content. No one wants to kill us for a change." Lifting herself up to rest on an elbow she continued, "and for once, it feels safe enough that I'm not worried about you." She punctuated that by gently poking him in the chest.   
  
He was about to lean in to kiss her and say something about not having to worry about her either when the chime outside their door sounded. They both got up and quickly threw something on. Crichton answered the door and was surprised to find a shaken Sa'di standing before him. He invited her in.   
  
"It's good to see you. I tried to contact you a couple of days ago, but no one could find you. How are you holding up?"   
  
Her face looked ashen, as if she hadn't slept since the day Celas had died. "I'm alright, John. It's just so hard to believe he's gone."   
  
Aeryn said nothing. She eyed Sa'di suspiciously, but didn't want to make her uncomfortable. Something about the woman had always struck her as wrong, but if she was mistaken, she didn't want to add to her apparent distress. She knew how she would feel if she ever lost John, although somehow, she also knew instinctively that what the woman before her had felt for her dead companion was nothing like what she shared with John. She couldn't quantify it further, but having seen the two of them together, she knew that something just didn't feel right.   
  
She had shared her concern with John early on, but apparently he didn't see it. Of course, even after everything he had been through, she knew John was just a little too trusting. It could be inconvenient, but Aeryn was actually grateful for it. That openness to others was a quality he had lost for a time. It was a great relief to her that he was beginning to find it again.   
  
"They won't even let me near the portal any longer. Those off worlder scientists are the only ones allowed on site now. I thought maybe if you said something to the authorities, or maybe you could let me come along with you. I just want to see the portal again and take a little something to remember Celas by."   
  
"That shouldn't be a problem, Sa'di. Aeryn and I were planning to head out there in a little while anyway. Why don't you tag along. We're just going to get some breakfast first. Meet us back here in about an arn and we'll see what we can do."   
  
She smiled weakly. "Thank you, John, I'll be back in an arn. I knew I could count on you."   
  
After showing her to the door, Crichton turned around to find a scowling Aeryn Sun.   
  
"Crichton, sometimes you can still be a frelling idiot. The Brinisi want everything connected with that gate destroyed after we leave. I don't think they're going to appreciate that woman on site and taking souvenirs. Remember that we are free and free to leave on their sufferance only."   
  
"Come on, Aeryn. What could it hurt. She just wants to come to terms with her loss."   
  
With an exasperated sigh, Aeryn just decided to let it drop. There was no arguing with him about some things.   
  
"So, you want to head to that little caf,?"   
  
Instead of an answer, Crichton was greeted with a very mischievous grin. "We have an arn, John, and I'm not really hungry anyway."   
  
He grinned back. "You know, I'm not very hungry either".....   
  
--------------------   
  
Crichton somehow managed to talk Sa'di past the guards, not that it really surprised Aeryn much, but she had been hoping that he might not be able to pull it off. It wasn't just a matter of not trusting Sa'di. After all, what could she do anyway? It was more a matter of not offending the Brinisi, something John was blithely ignoring.   
  
When they joined Carter and Jackson in the gate chamber, they were surprised to find the two humans in an absolute frenzy.   
  
"John, you are not going to believe this. Daniel and I were looking through some of the records that were uncovered with this gate, and we found something I'm still having trouble accepting."   
  
Jackson jumped in, "The Brinisi weren't able to translate any of the material they found with the gate. You said that you and Celas essentially guessed how the coordinate system worked. It turns out that some of the oldest documents are in something similar to a variant Goa'uld dialect I've studied, and I can make some of it out. One thing in particular caught my attention. It was labeled...I think the closest translation is 'Bringer of Death'.   
  
Carter continued, "The Brinisi scientists probably never noticed, but some of the metallic disks they found have microscopic etchings on them. The ones with the documents Daniel found have detailed schematics for something. We've been pouring over it all morning, and I think I know what it is."   
  
"I explained to you how the wormhole between two gates only operates in one direction. Well, if this thing is accurate, there might be a way to open a bi-directional wormhole between two gates that are in close proximity to one another, and by close, I mean essentially in the same room. We always assumed that if two gates were near each other, only one could be used to dial out at one time, and one or the other would activate by default if someone was dialing in. We have two gates on Earth, and we've observed some strange interactions, but we never guessed anything like this."   
  
There was silence. Carter and Jackson already knew where this was going, and realization was beginning to dawn on Crichton. Sa'di, with practiced ease, had managed to blend into the scenery, and no one took notice of her. It was Aeryn who broke the silence.   
  
"Who the frell cares? What does it matter if you can open a two way wormhole between two points in the same room?"   
  
"You can turn a system like that into a weapon, Aeryn."   
  
Carter smiled. He was obviously as quick as he had ever been. Aeryn just looked at Crichton in confusion.   
  
"Sebaceans have had FTL drives for a while now, right?"   
  
"Yes. Millennia."   
  
"Well, the Hetch drive and Starburst allow you to travel faster than light by taking an object out of normal space. You basically take a shorter path through a higher dimensional space. Do you guys have anything that can approach the speed of light by conventional means? Just starting from a standstill and accelerating?"   
  
Aeryn thought about it for a moment and said, "No, I don't think so, not without some ridiculous expenditure of energy."   
  
"Sam, I'm guessing you've got the details worked out. Care to give as a quick rundown," John said.   
  
"If you can get a massive object, and it doesn't have to have much mass at all, traveling at near the speed of light, and fire it at a target, the destructive capacity would be unimaginable."   
  
She addressed Aeryn, "With your level of technology, or even the level of the Goa'uld, or for all I know the Asgard, there's no way to produce a practical relativistic projectile weapon. The problem is that you need to keep feeding energy into the thing over a long distance to keep it accelerating. You have the AG technology and even we have the ability to produce a hard enough vacuum, but you can't accelerate the projectile over a straight path for a long enough distance. Even if you could get to a reasonable fraction of the speed of light, you would need the projectile to be enormous to have any real effect. However, kinetic energy blows up asymptotically as you approach the speed of light. So if you can get to truly relativistic speeds, say greater than .99c, you only need a small mass."   
  
Now Aeryn was beginning to see where this was going. Carter continued.   
  
"Suppose you have two gates aligned over a distance of a few feet and can produce a bi-directional wormhole between the two. It would be easy to encase the whole assembly in a gravity free vacuum using your level of technology. You place a charged mass between the two gates and create a strong magnetic field. The projectile accelerates, goes in one gate, out the other then back into the first, ad infinitum. The magnetic field only has to be maintained over a short distance, and you have basically created an infinitely long 'barrel' for you projectile. You can accelerate the projectile for as long as you need. The wormhole physics dictate that you don't lose momentum as you enter or leave the gate, but there is a 5 microsecond lag regardless of how fast something is traveling into the gate. That means that when you're ready to fire your projectile, you just turn off the forward facing gate."   
  
Aeryn was now visibly taken aback. "You could use a single ship to devastate a planet from orbit with something like that." John translated for the group.   
  
"Or defend against a space borne attack," said Carter. "We need to get this back to Earth. It could just be the first effective weapon we've had against the Goa'uld."   
  
"You're thinking of actually building this thing?" John was incredulous.   
  
"There's a real threat out there, John. We can't afford to be idealists."   
  
Aeryn agreed instantly. "Your world has enemies, John. You know as well as anyone what things are like out here. Something like this might make all the difference."   
  
John simply nodded his head. He knew they were right, but he didn't have to like it.   
  
No one noticed Sa'di listening quietly to the conversation.   
  
--------------------  
  
As he waited for the tech to replace his cooling rods, Scorpius reflected on the precarious position in which he now found himself. He had proved useful to High Command over the cycles, first as an experiment, the first ever Scarren/Sebacean hybrid to survive infancy, and then because of his unique scientific and organizational abilities. Peacekeeper technology had stagnated over the centuries to the point where a soldier plucked from half a millennium in the past would have felt perfectly at home in the present. Scorpius had displayed the type of novel thinking that might inject new life into the Peacekeeper military and provide a much needed advantage in the escalating conflict with the Scarrens and the nebulous but growing mess with the Nebari.  
  
It was his ability to innovate combined with a calculated ruthlessness that had allowed him to survive and advance this far. Yet these were exactly the qualities that had made him countless enemies over the cycles. Most of these had been dealt with quickly and quietly, but recent criticism had started to come from people who could not be eliminated in such a cavalier fashion. High Command was not please with his progress in wormhole research, and there were those who complained that three full cycles and countless resources had been wasted on a pipedream.   
  
Scorpius knew that they were right. However, to admit it would be tantamount to handing them his head on a platter. In the two and a half cycles since he had obtained the theoretical information on wormholes from Crichton's brain, he had come to realize that Peacekeeper technology was very far indeed from being able to turn the equations into anything practical. Yes, he could trigger a wormhole. That alone had mollified High Command for a time and allowed him to keep his skin intact. Controlling the endpoint was another matter altogether.   
  
The energy expenditure needed to do it was astronomical and well beyond anything the Peacekeepers could generate. The hints had always been there. When he had first extracted information on Crichton's meeting with the Ancients over three cycles ago, he had learned that they only had the energy reserves to create one more stable wormhole, hence the deception to learn if Earth would be a suitable home for them. At the time, Scorpius had no idea how much energy was involved, but now he did. The past cycle and a half had simply been a series of holding maneuvers to forestall his execution for just a little longer.   
  
That is until half a cycle ago, when word of the Brinisi portal device had reached him. He knew it was unlikely in the extreme that such a device could function, but he had managed to convince High Command otherwise, and they had sent a disruptor to infiltrate the Brinisi team working on the portal. A few days ago, everything had changed. Scorpius had been informed of their agent's unexpected report of the Brinisi success.   
  
Now he was in command of a task force approaching Brinisi space. The Peacekeepers had avoided conflict with the Alliance to which the Brinisi belonged simply as a matter of convenience. There was nothing there worth the effort of taking. The existence of the working portal changed everything. Scorpius was now in command of five carrier groups with over 1000 prowlers and 100,000 assault troops. They expected heavy losses during the initial attack, but that was inconsequential. Scorpius had enough force under his command to overwhelm Brinisi planetary defenses and take the capital city. He could prevent land based reinforcement of the capital from space and by air. Conquest of the planet wasn't an issue. He just needed to hold the capital city until he had what he needed.   
  
The disruptor's report had also included an interesting extra detail. Scorpius had an appointment with an old friend.  
  
--------------------  
  
All four members of SG-1 had gathered in Crichton and Aeryn's room to discuss their unexpected windfall. It was decided that the information on the weapon would not be shared with the Brinisi. They didn't need anything complicating their departure and they needed to get the specs back to Earth without delay.   
  
It was Aeryn who remarked that the six people gathered were not the only ones who knew about the weapon.   
  
"We'll just have a talk with Sa'di in the morning. I'm sure we can convince her to keep quiet about it for a while. By then, it won't matter anyway."  
  
"This was a mistake, John. We should not have let her out of our sight until we were ready to depart, no matter how unlikely it is that she might cause a problem"  
  
"Aeryn, you saw how exhausted she was. She's not in any shape to do anything even if she wanted to."  
  
"You two know, her. Do you trust her?"  
  
Crichton turned to O'Neill and repeated essentially what he had just said to Aeryn. "She's harmless."  
  
O'Neill glanced at Aeryn and saw immediately that she wasn't quite so ready to dismiss the threat posed by the Brinisi scientist. Still, there was nothing to be done now. She had left the portal site, apparently unobserved by anyone, before O'Neill and Teal'c had arrived. That in itself was a little worrying.  
  
"Alright. We'll just hope for the best there. So, Dr. Crichton, have you and Officer Sun decided whether to come with us tomorrow?"  
  
Crichton looked to Aeryn before answering. She had said yes, but he wouldn't commit to anything without checking just one more time. Aeryn responded with a slight nod of the head and the faintest trace of a smile.   
  
"Yeah, we're going with you."  
  
"You remember the conditions we outlined earlier? Those are not negotiable. You also understand that with the Brinisi gate buried, this is a one way trip?"  
  
He answered quietly, "Yes. Aeryn and I stay on your base for a while. Then no contact with anyone from my past. I'm going to ask you again. Do I have your word that Aeryn will be safe, that she won't be treated as someone's science project?"  
  
"Don't worry, Crichton, contact with aliens is old hat to us now. I guarantee you she'll be safe."  
  
Carter added, "He's telling you the truth, John." She turned to Aeryn and continued, "You will both be safe. I promise you that."  
  
Carter's oath obviously meant something to Crichton, but Aeryn was surprised to realize that it was starting to mean something to her as well.  
  
With that, the four gate travelers left Crichton and Aeryn and returned to their respective quarters.  
  
"I guess we need to leave word for the others when they get back. I wish we had time to say goodbye."  
  
Aeryn laughed unexpectedly, "As strange as it sounds, I think I'm going to miss Rygel and Chiana the most. They may get us into more trouble than anyone else, but you always know where you stand with them. Then there's Pilot ....," she trailed off.  
  
Crichton realized that in spite of her attempt to lighten the mood, Aeryn was troubled. She was, after all, leaving the closest thing she had ever known to a home. "Are you really sure about this, Aeryn."  
  
"I'm sure, John, and I am eager to see your Earth."  
  
"I really wish you could meet my dad. You would like him."  
  
Aeryn hesitated for an instant and then asked almost in a whisper, "Do you think he would have liked me?"  
  
John put his arm around her and leaned his head against hers. "He would have loved you. Just like me .... well, maybe not just like me." He was quiet for a few microts then continued, "At least we won't have to worry about him badgering us about grandkids. I remember what he put my sister through when she got married."  
  
Aeryn instantly pulled away and looked at him wide-eyed. "Married .... Children .... John, we never talked about anything .... I mean I always assumed, but .... I ...." She was babbling now.  
  
Crichton shut her up with a quick kiss before continuing in a gentle but serious tone. "If we're going to Earth, maybe we should start talking about those things, don't you think?"  
  
That hadn't gone quite according to plan, and despite his calm demeanor, Crichton was terrified as he waited for a response from Aeryn. The word 'relief' didn't begin to describe what he felt as Aeryn started to break into a conspiratorial smile.   
  
Before either of them could say anything further, they heard a series of massive explosions.  
  
--------------------  
  
Aeryn and Crichton ran outside to find that they were among a large crowd looking around in total confusion. There was a second and third round of explosions from the direction of the city center and the local military base, and this time Aeryn noticed the flash and streak that preceded each.  
  
She turned to Crichton and said with preternatural calm, "John, those are frag cannons. There's a Peacekeeper ship in orbit."  
  
He looked at her in confusion until the words sank in. Just when things were beginning to look good and he was ready to drop his guard, they were back. He should have expected it. It was almost too much to deal with.  
  
Now wasn't the time to indulge in that sort of thinking, and Crichton was trying his best to focus. They needed to act, but the only thing he could think to ask Aeryn was, "Why?"  
  
"No frelling idea. They've never had any interest in the Alliance before. It doesn't matter now. I recognize the pattern. The cannon fire was directed at the military base, and probably power and communications centers. That means they've already overwhelmed orbital defenses. The next step is landing ground forces."  
  
No sooner had she said this than they saw at least 20 marauders with prowler escorts beginning descent.  
  
Aeryn began explaining almost mechanically.  
  
"There should be at least five landing forces like that coming down at various key points. They're going to keep doing that in rotation. That's about 1000 Peacekeepers in each wave. I'm guessing they have total air superiority already and the prowlers will keep the local ground forces busy until they build up sufficient strength to start moving. The Brinisi won't be prepared for something like this."  
  
She sounded like she was reciting from a manual, and Crichton simply stared at her as if she had lost her mind. Aeryn broke from her reverie long enough to get a good look at him. What she saw frightened her. He had that haunted look again, the look she hadn't seen since Scorpius had manipulated him through the chip.   
  
Aeryn was now furious, not at him but at the circumstances. She would not allow him to go through that again. Pulling her after him, she headed toward the quarters occupied by the other humans.   
  
"Come on, John. We need to get moving now." She knew from experience that the best thing for him now was to force him to react to the situation.   
  
They were met halfway to their destination by SG-1 heading in the opposite direction.  
  
"What the hell is going on?"  
  
Aeryn looked to Crichton and was relieved to see that he was starting to come out of it. He answered O'Neill. "Peacekeepers. Aeryn says it's an invasion."  
  
"Why now? I thought you said they didn't bother with this place."  
  
He got nothing from either Aeryn or Crichton. It was Jackson who supplied a likely answer. "The gate. You don't suppose they found out about the gate somehow?"  
  
They had no evidence to support it, but everyone knew that he had hit upon the correct explanation.   
  
Crichton turned to Aeryn again, "Stargate .... wormhole .... that means it's Scorpy up there."  
  
Aeryn now had a target for her rage, and found that it was accompanied by an intense feeling of protectiveness for John. "Don't worry, John. He won't get to you again. I'll see to that."  
  
"O.k., people, we can reminisce about old friends later. Right now, I think it's time to move our timetable up. We head to the gate now."  
  
No one questioned O'Neill.   
  
As they made their way through the city to the sound of sporadic weapons fire, Aeryn was again impressed by the humans. They moved quickly and without breaking formation when no cover was present and methodically from point to point when they had cover. When they advanced in areas of likely contact with the Peacekeepers, they did so in stages, always covering one another as they advanced. Weapons were held at the ready, but there was none of the mindless swaggering that she had so often observed even in Peacekeeper Commando troops. These were professionals of a sort she had often wished as comrades in the old days. Even the Archaeologist knew what he was doing.  
  
Aeryn and Crichton held back, keeping pace with the humans but trying not to get in their way. As she occasionally glanced at him to mark his progress, Aeryn smiled inwardly at that fact that she was impressed with John too. He had certainly come a long way from the naive alien she had met almost five cycles earlier. He didn't move like the humans ahead of them, but he made a passable soldier now, and passable was all she wanted. She never wanted him to become so immersed in the day to day matter of survival that he lost some of those qualities that had drawn her to him in the first place.  
  
--------------------  
  
Elsewhere, a lone Brinisi woman approached the temporary headquarters the Peacekeepers had set up in what remained of the military base. She walked up to the sentries without the slightest hesitation. The young Peacekeeper in charge of the guard detachment started to speak.  
  
"You .... turn around before we decide ...."  
  
He was abruptly cut off. "Shut the frell up, boy, and address me as Commander. I want to see your commanding officer. Now!"  
  
--------------------  
  
After what seemed like an eternity, and having avoided contact with the Peacekeeper patrols that were probably scouring the city by now, Aeryn, Crichton and SG-1 were almost at the gate site. It was then that they encountered their first surprise of the evening.   
  
"Sa'di? What are you doing here?"  
  
"John! There are soldiers everywhere. They've been rounding people up, anyone connected to the portal project. I thought you might be coming here. I didn't know where else to go."  
  
"Do you know if they've captured the gate yet?"  
  
"No. Some of our security forces are still in the sector. They haven't made it this far. John, if you're going to leave through the gate, take me with you. I know I can never come back, but there's nothing for me here anyway."  
  
Crichton turned to O'Neill. "She wants to go with us. She understands that it's a one way trip."  
  
"Fine. We don't have time to discuss it now anyway. We keep moving."  
  
Aeryn said nothing. There was no time for an argument now. However, she didn't take her eyes of Sa'di for an instant.   
  
--------------------  
  
As they approached the portal site, O'Neill was suspicious. Their crossing through the city had gone far too easily. Part of that could be attributed to the Peacekeepers themselves. They seemed to be spreading through the city in a haphazard fashion and without any really coherent plan. The squads were easily avoided, since they seemed to expect little or no resistance and behaved accordingly. Still, they had been far too lucky.   
  
The same thought occurred to Aeryn as she continued to watch Sa'di. As they got closer to their objective, something else started to become apparent . Sa'di was far more physically fit than her demeanor indicated, and more suspiciously still, she moved like a soldier. At least she did for a short time. At one point, she glanced at Aeryn and smiled. After that, she began to stumble occasionally and hesitate as they crossed open ground. Aeryn wasn't sure what was going on, but she decided she would find out soon enough.   
  
The sounds of fighting were becoming more evident. The Brinisi had apparently concentrated a defense in this region. As they approached the temporary structure housing the portal, O'Neill and Teal'c made a careful survey of their surroundings. They found nothing and decided to proceed.   
  
Once inside the gate chamber, Carter and Jackson began collecting everything they could find. Their first priority was to recover everything relating to the relativistic weapon to supplement what they had already gathered over the past few days. To their surprise, they found most of those items missing. They searched frantically, but failed to find anything new. Having little choice, they took as much of the remaining material as they could carry, regardless of content.   
  
Aeryn had realized from the moment they entered the building that something was wrong about Sa'di's behavior. Only now was she beginning to see what it was. She had essentially attached herself to Jackson and had, in turns, tried to remain close to John and Carter as well. This train of thought had barely crystallized when Carter activated the Asgard device, and the gate came to life.   
  
Just as they were about to make their escape, Aeryn saw Sa'di make an unnatural twisting motion with her wrist and then heard a familiar whine. She yelled for everyone to get down. Whether they understood the words or not, they got the point and dropped. Two small explosive devices at opposite ends of the room went off simultaneously, spraying the room with miniature flechettes.  
  
Aeryn was the first to recover. She looked first for Crichton and then around the room and was amazed to discover that no one had been injured. A moment later, she also realized that they were not alone. Two Peacekeeper commando teams had entered from opposite ends of the chamber and had them covered. No one spoke until a familiar voice sounded from the far entrance.   
  
"Hello, John. Have you missed me?"   
  
Aeryn recognized the speaker without needing to turn around. She instinctively placed herself between Crichton and Scorpius. Before anyone had a chance to do anything further, they were all surprised by weapons fire coming from the opposite entrance.   
  
Captain Preval and a contingent of Brinisi security had appeared out of nowhere and were firing at the Peacekeepers. Aeryn spun around to find Crichton, but saw that Sa'di, who had been now placed herself between him and Jackson and the rest of the group, had pushed him away from the gate. She appeared to be pushing them out of the line of fire of the Peacekeepers. She tried to get to John, but the gunfire separating them intensified and effectively separated her, O'Neill, Carter and Teal'c in front of the gate entrance from Crichton, Sa'di and Jackson.  
  
SG-1 fired back at the Peacekeepers separating their group, and killed two, but they were outnumbered, and the Brinisi were clearly on the losing end of the engagement. Sa'di urged Crichton and Jackson towards the control room, which had its own exit. There was no choice left, O'Neill ordered his people through the gate. Aeryn had no intention of leaving Crichton behind, but she was given no choice as Teal'c and Carter dragged her struggling towards the gate. The last thing she saw was Crichton looking back at her from the control room. Jackson and Sa'di had already exited and he was just about to follow. She had a clear view of his face, and what she saw was fear. Not for himself, she realized, but for her.   
  
She screamed his name before disappearing with the others through the wormhole.   
  
--------------------  
  
As they left the control room, Sa'di turned to the two humans and said, "Follow me. I know a quick way out of the building. The Peacekeepers won't have it covered, and the ones in the portal room are too busy to follow."   
  
Moments after their departure, all weapons fire in the control room stopped. The dead 'Brinisi' and Peacekeepers, at least those who hadn't been killed by the humans, got up and filed out of the chamber. Lt. Braca escorted a frantic looking Captain Preval to Scorpius.   
  
Scorpius smiled his death's head smile. "Captain. Thank you for your cooperation and for the use of the uniforms."   
  
"You said I could rejoin my family if I helped you. Take me to them."   
  
"Of course. You may join them now. Lieutenant."   
  
Braca stepped back a fraction, raised his pulse pistol and fired once at the base of Preval's skull.   
  
"Sir, should we pursue Crichton and the others?"   
  
"Yes, Lieutenant, but stick to the plan. Send out a few units, make it exciting for them, but make sure you don't catch anything. It shouldn't be difficult to manage. Commander Calis is transmitting her position to us continuously. I really had hoped to detain the other human scientist, as well as capture the gate triggering device, but this deception was a calculated risk, and we must make due with what we have. Let us hope that Crichton will suffice and that Calis' plan doesn't prove a complete waste of time."   
  
"Sir."   
  
--------------------  
  
Aeryn found herself moving backwards through a long tunnel with dimensions that seemed just beyond her perception. The slightly unreal sensation lasted for only a moment until she was thrown onto her back, staring at the portal. She jumped to her feet frantically looking for the control room where she had just seen John.   
  
The room was not where it had been just microts earlier and as the disorientation passed, she realized that she was no longer in the same place. This must be Earth, and John was still on Brinisa.   
  
Aeryn was flanked by Carter and Teal'c with O'Neill slightly ahead, but they were not alone. A half dozen soldiers dressed slightly differently than the SG team had rifles trained on her. Two other soldiers were at either side of the room, manning a pair of larger weapons. O'Neill ordered them to stand down, and they lowered their weapons.   
  
As soon as she had her bearings, Aeryn walked up to O'Neill and began demanding that the gate be reactivated and that they return to rescue John. She didn't realize that she was screaming at him, but after a few seconds, she did realize that he didn't understand her. Then it dawned on her that no one would understand her, so she began gesturing towards the gate trying to make her meaning as obvious as possible.   
  
O'Neill spoke to her evenly. "I know you want us to go back, but we can't. They're going to have the other gate covered now. The Brinisi were already losing the fight when we left. If we go back, we walk into an ambush."   
  
Carter continued. "Aeryn, I know you're worried about John, but we saw him escape. Don't forget we lost someone back there too. There's nothing we can do just now, but we will figure something out."   
  
She saw the sense in what they were telling her, but she didn't have to like it. Aeryn decided that panicking now would serve no purpose. Just then, an older man with no hair approached them.   
  
"Colonel, you're a day early. Where is Dr. Jackson, and who is this?"   
  
"General, we ran into some trouble. Daniel's still on Brinisa, that's what the locals call the planet we just left. This is Aeryn Sun; she's a friend. It's a long story."   
  
The general looked appraisingly at Aeryn, nodded and turned back to O'Neill.  
  
"Very well. Get cleaned up and have your team assemble in the conference room in 30 minutes." Turning to Aeryn, he said, "Ms. Sun, welcome to Earth. I look forward to hearing of the circumstances of your arrival."   
  
Aeryn had come to attention almost by force of habit. She could only manage, "Thank you, sir." There was nothing else to say.   
  
Hammond glanced at O'Neill for an explanation.   
  
"She understands us. We can't understand her. Part of the long story, sir." Hammond just nodded again. The explanation would have to wait.   
  
"Ms. Sun, we're going to have to ask you to undergo a routine medical examination." Noticing that Aeryn had tensed visibly and that she had shifted her arm to allow ready access to the weapon she carried, Hammond added, "You have our assurance that you will not be harmed in any way. This is standard procedure and we guarantee your safety."   
  
Carter continued as casually as she dared, "You can trust us, Aeryn. Come on, I'll take you to the medical bay. You won't need your weapons."   
  
The look Aeryn gave her left no doubt as her opinion of that idea. "It's standard procedure, Aeryn. We can't have unauthorized people walking around the base armed." She still hesitated.   
  
"The faster we get all of this over with, the faster we can figure out what to do about Daniel and John." Aeryn had no argument for that. She would risk walking unarmed to her own dissection, but she wouldn't risk allowing her hesitation to put John in any further danger. She handed her pulse rifle and the pistol strapped to her thigh to one of the soldiers who approached. Carter led the way, and Aeryn followed.   
  
--------------------   
  
Crichton and Jackson followed Sa'di as they made their way through one of the more crowded quarters of the city. They had no idea how they had managed to elude the Peacekeepers and assumed that it was just an enormous bit of luck. Perhaps the Brinisi security forces had kept them tied up in the portal chamber just long enough to let them escape.   
  
Sa'di turned to the two men and said, "We need to blend in better. You two look totally out of place. I know a few people around here. I can find us someplace to stay for the night, and I'll see to getting you something else to wear."   
  
It didn't seem too strange to either human that the Brinisi woman had essentially taken charge since their escape. After all, this was her city and her people. Crichton did notice that she was far more assertive than he had ever seen her, but he knew that people sometimes reacted unexpectedly under pressure. He didn't dwell on this for long, since his thoughts were elsewhere.   
  
In short order, Sa'di brought them to a small house near one of the cheaper commercial districts. "I have some friends who live here. Wait outside while I see if they can hide us for the night." She hesitated. "These are good people. I don't like putting them in danger, but I suppose we don't have a choice."   
  
--------------------  
  
She entered the small building while Crichton and Jackson hid in the alley behind the house. The middle aged man and woman waiting inside immediately stood at attention. She would have shot them on the spot for conspicuous stupidity if she had had the luxury. These were ordinary soldiers. There hadn't been time to plant anyone competent.   
  
She spoke in a whisper. "Sit down, you frelling idiots, and act casual. It's lucky I didn't bring them in with me. Remember, you are to treat me as a friend." As an afterthought, she added, "You will minimize contact with the humans. Frell this up, and I'll have the two of you begging for the living death before this is over."   
  
The two Peacekeepers who had been conscripted for this very strange duty blanched but obeyed without question. Sa'di went back outside and motioned for the two waiting humans to join her.   
  
--------------------  
  
While waiting to be examined, Aeryn took the opportunity to look over the medical facility. She had often called Crichton and his people primitive, in all seriousness in the early days, then only when she was angry at him, and later mostly as a matter of playful teasing. This had always been in light of his early unfamiliarity with her world and with the limited exposure to his technology that Farscape 1 had afforded. Now she was suffering from information overload. Part of her wanted to shut it all out, and part wanted to absorb as much of John's world as she could.   
  
The medical equipment told her a few things. She was hardly an expert, but a number of things were obvious even to her. She knew from Crichton that the Peacekeepers were far ahead of humans in many aspects of medical technology. Disease was almost unknown and genetic screening meant that the average Peacekeeper was more physically fit. However, it was clear from her surroundings that humans were more interested in treating the individual than in maintaining a healthy population. Everything here was designed for the patient, a fact she noticed only because it was at odds with her own experience of Peacekeeper medical science. The welfare of the individual had never been a concern in her old life. More than four years with John had changed her perspective on that. It was reassuring to see that, at least where their own people were concerned, other humans felt the same.   
  
Of course, she wasn't human, and she wasn't sure if those rules applied to her. She was beginning to trust Carter, mostly because John had trusted her, and she felt an affinity to O'Neill. He reminded her of the one or two good commanding officers she had come across. Teal'c was a mystery, but he claimed to be an alien, and that too was reassuring in its own way. Still, she was fully prepared to be strapped down and dissected at any moment, and her guard remained up.   
  
A woman wearing a white coat introduced herself. "Hello, you must be our guest. I'm Dr. Fraser. We're just going to run a few routine tests. Nothing to worry about."   
  
Carter said, "I'm going to get cleaned up. You'll be fine with Janet. I'll be back in a bit to take you to the briefing." Not knowing what else to do, Aeryn nodded nervously as she prepared to leave. She noticed that the two armed guards who had escorted them here hadn't budged.  
  
She sat patiently through what seemed like a routine physical of the sort she had been subjected to countless times as a soldier. She was reluctant to have her blood drawn at first but relented once Fraser explained what was involved. As a final step, she was asked to wear a strange gown and placed inside a cylindrical machine for a few microts.   
  
After the examination, Carter returned as promised to escort Aeryn to the conference room where Hammond, O'Neill and Teal'c were waiting.   
  
"Major Carter, Officer Sun, please be seated. Colonel O'Neill has already given me a brief overview of your mission. As I imagine you already know, we cannot mount a direct rescue operation through the Stargate. These Peacekeepers undoubtedly have the Brinisi gate under heavy guard now."   
  
Aeryn started to protest immediately, insisting that they had to get to John. It took her a few moments to realize that, once again, no one understood her.   
  
"Officer Sun, I understand your concern for Dr. Crichton, but I will not send my people on a suicide mission, not for him and not even for Dr. Jackson. I assure you that we intend to do something about this situation, but we need to do something rational."   
  
Aeryn was fighting an internal struggle on three fronts. First, there was the increasing frustration of not being able to convey anything beyond the level of "yes" and "no", then there was her natural inclination to do something, anything right now, and finally, there was an ingrained instinct to obey or at least listen to someone in authority. Eventually, she gave in to the last and decided that it would be best to listen for now.   
  
"Major Carter, this weapon the Colonel described. Can you give me a threat assessment."   
  
"Sir, I don't know if the Peacekeepers can put the thing together in the first place. For one thing, I brought some of the schematics with me so whatever they have is incomplete, and we know that they have no experience with gate technology. Even if they can get it working, I suspect it poses no immediate threat to us, since they have no way of getting to us. However, there are a few other factors to consider. The existence of such a weapon may attract the attention of the Goa'uld. We don't know if they have any presence in this region of space, but we can't exclude the possibility. We also need to consider what it would mean for us if we could get our hands on this technology. This might be our first effective weapon against Goa'uld."   
  
"Thank you, Major." He turned to O'Neill. "Colonel?"   
  
"Sir, I think we need to find a way to get back there and get whatever Carter needs to build this thing. Barring that, we need to make sure no one else gets their hands on it. And while we're at it, we find some way to get Daniel and Crichton back."   
  
The last sentence was the only thing that interested Aeryn. The small part of her that wasn't consumed with worry about John was analyzing what she had just witnessed. These people were like John, but also quite different. They were practical in a way that she had not come to expect from him. They wanted to rescue Jackson, maybe nearly as much as she wanted to get to John, but the weapon took priority.   
  
"So now the question is how do we get back." O'Neill looked around the table hoping for a response. When no one spoke, he offered, "Maybe the Tok'ra? It's about time that alliance did something for us."  
  
"The Tok'ra will be of no use, O'Neill. Their vessels would require years to travel to Brinisa."   
  
"There might be another option, Teal'c. We know that Brinisa was part of the gate network at one time. If we could find a nearby planet with a gate, we could use it as a staging point for a raid. We would need to contact the Asgard, but it might just work."   
  
"Thank you, Major. That's worth looking into immediately. Contact Thor and start searching for a feasible planet. I'll need to get presidential approval before we can make a proposal to the Tok'ra."   
  
Hammond then turned to Aeryn. "Officer Sun, you were a Peacekeeper and you know how they operate and what we can expect. Your assistance would be invaluable. It's unfortunate that we have no way to communicate with you effectively."   
  
"I may have an idea about that, Sir."   
  
"Major?"   
  
"One of the devices we recovered from Machello. Daniel thought it was a Goa'uld translation device, but he never got around to examining it. Teal'c or I might be able to get it functional."   
  
"Very well, Major, contact Area 51 and have it transported here."   
  
Most of this meant nothing to Aeryn, but she did gather that she might soon be able to do something more productive than shake her head.   
  
--------------------   
  
Crichton and Jackson were treated to a simple but filling meal by their hosts. Crichton had withdrawn from the others, still trying to come to grips with his separation from Aeryn. He had sworn after what happened with Crais and Talyn that he would never let her out of his sight again. This time, it was no one's fault, but he wouldn't let himself accept that.   
  
When he could get a hold of Crichton, Jackson tried repeatedly to engage their hosts through him, but all he got in response to his questions were single syllable answers. He didn't blame them. These people were putting themselves at tremendous risk, and he had no right to expect civility on top of everything else.   
  
Sa'di had been out for a number of hours, gathering food and a change of clothing.  
  
--------------------   
  
"Remind me again why I agreed to this deception, Commander."   
  
"Sir, you know as well as I that the use of this gate as a transportation device has limited strategic value. Whether you can adapt the technology to your wormhole research is uncertain. However, this relativistic weapon has immediate and profound implications."   
  
Scorpius continued to look at her with that hideous expression. It took some effort on Calis' part not to react. Every fiber of her being screamed that the creature before her was an abomination. Addressing it as a superior was almost more than she could tolerate. After all, she was a Sebacean and a Peacekeeper. Not only that, but among the elite, hand picked from childhood for special service. She believed without reservation in the superiority of her people and in her own superiority over this half-breed. Still, duty dictated that she obey it for now.   
  
"I would suggest once again that forceful extraction of the details of this weapon is dangerous. It didn't work with Crichton the first time, and it may not work with Jackson. We are under no immediate time constraint. The city is secure and will remain so. Give me a few weekens, and I may be able to get the all the information we need. If it becomes necessary, we can always take the humans into custody and employ more forceful methods."  
  



	3. .

The remainder of the day was an exercise in frustration for Aeryn. Carter informed her that the translation device would take a day to make it to the SGC, and even then, there was no guarantee it would work. She was given a brief tour of the base, ending with a trip to the mess hall. Carter had apparently appointed herself Aeryn's personal guide. She assumed this was out of a sense of loyalty to John. She was actually very grateful to her. In the midst of unfamiliar surroundings, it was reassuring to be in the company of someone she knew, even a little.  
  
The meal was another opportunity for Aeryn to learn something of John's world. The food was actually good and fairly varied, another concession to the comfort of the individual that the Peacekeeper military would never have made. The atmosphere was also more relaxed than she had ever seen on a ship or base. The soldiers and few civilians seemed to be free of the sense of fatalism that Aeryn automatically associated with the military, at least her military.  
  
Her thoughts still centered on John, Aeryn found that she had little appetite. Carter tried to engage her a few times, suggesting some item or other, but the one way communication only went so far. A short while into the meal, they were joined by O'Neill and Teal'c.  
  
Teal'c addressed her first. "Officer Sun, I hope you are adjusting to your new surroundings. I know better than most how it feels to be on an alien world with no connection to your past."  
  
Aeryn could only nod her head again. She looked around the table, pointed to herself and said her first name hoping that her meaning was clear. The other's got the point and O'Neill spoke for them.  
  
"You can call us Jack, Sam and Teal'c."  
  
Of course, she already knew the names, but it was good to establish a connection explicitly. Aeryn found herself a passive observer during the rest of the meal as SG-1 discussed the details of their plan.  
  
"So, Carter, how's the search for a staging area going?"  
  
"We have three prospective planets, sir, between 12 hours and 2 days travel to Brinisa by Tok'ra transport vessels. We've communicated the gate coordinates to the Asgard already. With any luck, one of the gates will be functional. We still have to sell this to the Tok'ra though."  
  
"Oh, I don't think that's going to be a problem. The second they hear about the weapon, they'll be begging to help. Self-important, useless bunch of ...."  
  
While O'Neill continued to complain about the Tok'ra, Teal'c said, "Perhaps we might involve your father, Major."  
  
"The last time I talked to my dad, he said he was going on a 6 month extended mission. He's not going to be available."  
  
O'Neill broke from his increasingly colorful commentary to say, "Great. The one Tok'ra I trust, and he's not available."  
  
"Perhaps we should attempt to contact Anise. She has proved unreliable in the past, but she is a known variable and she would undoubtedly be interested in this new technology. She also seems to have a particular interest in you, O'Neill. That may be advantageous."  
  
"Uh, yeah. I don't think that's relevant Teal'c."  
  
Aeryn noticed that O'Neill and, to a lesser extent, Carter had become uncomfortable at the mention of this Anise. It occurred to her for the first time that there might be more to their relationship than simply that of superior and subordinate. They didn't act that way, but to Aeryn that was perfectly natural.  
  
Carter continued, "In any event, the sooner the general gets approval to contact them the better. We need to get some estimates on how long its going to take them to disassemble some transports, get them through the gate and reassemble them at the staging area."  
  
"Ideally, we would want them to do some reconnaissance a few days before we strike. We need to identify Peacekeeper headquarters. If we can't find the schematics, we strike there and at the gate."  
  
The mention of "a few days" bothered Aeryn, and she was becoming increasingly irritated by her inability to ask even simple questions. She realized for the first time that the planning and execution of this mission might take weekens. That should have been obvious, but the upheaval of the past few arns had left her somewhat disoriented.  
  
It worried her that the discussion had so far failed to include anything about a rescue. So she said something to O'Neill that was likely to be understood.  
  
"Crichton...Jackson."  
  
"You're wondering about how much thought we've put into getting them back?"  
  
Aeryn nodded.  
  
"Well, the main strike force will be busy trying to recover the schematics and do whatever damage they can, but we haven't forgotten about Daniel or Crichton. Daniel has a transmitter. It's standard procedure in a situation like this to broadcast a one second signal every day at local noon. The signal is designed to mimic background radiation, so with any luck, the Peacekeepers won't notice. We should be able to find them easily enough. Don't worry. Daniel's smart. He knows how to stay hidden, and from what I understand, your friend Crichton has a little experience in that area too."  
  
"We're going to need your help with this, Aeryn, not just to get our two wayward friends back, but for the overall plan. We need to know about standard Peacekeeper procedures, the sort of resistance we can expect, the likely distribution of forces and probably a lot of other things."  
  
Aeryn nodded furiously at O'Neill. Of course, she would do anything they wanted if it meant getting back to that frelling planet. She just had to hope that John and the other human could hold out. They had Sa'di with them, who might be useful as a native, but Aeryn had more than a few suspicions about her. She wanted desperately to convey these to the humans but had to wait for now.  
  
After the meal, Carter took Aeryn to some temporary quarters. They were hardly luxurious, but far better than what she had been used to as a Peacekeeper. She showed her to a terminal of some sort.  
  
"These microbes of yours don't allow you to read alien writing, do they?"  
  
Aeryn shook her head to indicate that they didn't.  
  
"That's too bad. We could have given you some material and mission briefings to familiarize you with our procedures. That can wait. In the mean time, I've taken the liberty of having the computer set up to display some information about Earth. There are images and videos with narration. Let me show you how to scroll through them."  
  
She turned on the machine and briefly showed Aeryn what to do. "We kept this as simple as possible. Once you start, you can just push this button to advance and this one to repeat a segment. We've used this program before to give guests and offworld contacts a little introduction to our planet."  
  
Aeryn was grateful for the distraction. She had decided by now that she was in no immediate danger of being cut open, and since she could do nothing for John just yet, she would learn as much about his world as she could. Aeryn told herself that it was in anticipation of their reunion. She had already vowed that she would either make that reunion a reality or die in the attempt.  
  
"There are some clothes in the closet over there, and a small bathroom. Press this button if you need anything, and someone will come by to help you."  
  
Carter smiled and said, "With any luck, we might be able to have a real conversation tomorrow. Is there anything else I can do for you before I leave?"  
  
Aeryn could think of nothing at first, but just as Carter was about to leave, she flashed on something. It was ridiculous, she knew, but she said it anyway. She hoped she was saying it right, and at first Carter didn't seem to understand, but then she just looked a little surprised as understanding dawned.  
  
"Chocolate? You want chocolate? Uh...o.k. I'll see to it that someone brings you some."  
  
No doubt the human thought she had lost her mind, but as far as Aeryn was concerned, it was another link to John. He had talked about it often enough. Now she would be able to tell him what she thought of it when she saw him again.  
  
Aeryn settled herself before the computer and did as Carter had instructed her. Her concern for John was ever present, but a lifetime of training had taught her how to compartmentalize her thoughts. So she was able to focus the rational part of her mind on the images of John's home world. She absorbed everything presented to her eagerly.  
  
--------------------  
  
Their hosts had excused themselves for the evening, and Crichton and Jackson found themselves alone in the small dining room waiting for Sa'di's return.  
  
"So you're going to set this thing off every day. Are you that sure your people are going to come back?"  
  
"The weapon is important enough, even if we aren't. Besides, it's best to be optimistic." He hesitated for a moment. "I think it might be better not to tell Sa'di about the transmitter just yet."  
  
He continued before Crichton could interrupt. "It's not that I don't trust her. It's just standard procedure. I shouldn't really be telling you about it either, but it might be necessary for you to operate it if something happens to me. And you're from Earth, so that's a plus as far as I'm concerned."  
  
Crichton simply nodded his head in agreement. He had barely been listening when Jackson explained how to use the transmitter.  
  
"You're worried about Aeryn, aren't you? She's safe, you know. No one at the SGC is a threat to her."  
  
"We promised each other we wouldn't be separated again. Now she's on the other side of the galaxy. I can't imagine what she's thinking or going through right now"  
  
"You promised each other you would never be separated? Pardon me for saying, but don't you think that's a little .... ridiculous?"  
  
Crichton looked up at Jackson for the first time, and his expression held nothing pleasant.  
  
"I just mean that with the type of life you two have been leading, how can you possibly expect to control something like that?"  
  
He spoke in quiet, measured tones. "Don't tell me what I can and can't control. You don't know anything about us. You have no idea how much we had to overcome."  
  
"I might know a little more than you think. You see, my wife was from another planet. Well .... she was human, but she wasn't from Earth. Of course, Aeryn is human too..."  
  
Crichton's building rage was now replaced by a look of utter disbelief. "What do you mean your wife was from another planet?"  
  
"Just that. She was from another planet." He continued with a touch of sarcasm, "You do realize that the gate lets us travel to other planets, right? I met her on my first mission."  
  
This was certainly a turn in the conversation Crichton hadn't anticipated. However, he suddenly found himself with an opportunity to address some things that had been worrying him for more than four cycles.  
  
"And, she came back to Earth with you?"  
  
"No. I stayed with her. She was from a very primitive world, and I was of some use to them."  
  
"Would she have come with you if you had asked?"  
  
"I think so. I adapted to her world. I think she would have adapted to mine. We loved each other, nothing else really mattered." He paused for a moment. "You're asking about yourself and Aeryn, aren't you?"  
  
Crichton said nothing but made no attempt to deny it.  
  
"I saw the two of you together for a few days. I don't think you have anything to worry about. On Earth or out here, you two belong with each other. The rest doesn't matter."  
  
Crichton looked at Jackson and said simply and with complete sincerity, "Thank you."  
  
"Wait a minute, what are you doing with this SGC if you decided to live on your wife's planet?"  
  
Jackson became pensive for a times before answering. "My wife was taken by the Goa'uld. I joined the SGC to find her ... she died."  
  
"I'm sorry, I had no idea ...."  
  
"It happened a few years ago .... and we had four good years together. I just try to remember that." Then with a pointed look at Crichton, "You shouldn't worry about incidental things. Just hold on to what really matters for as long as you can."  
  
There seemed nothing more to say, and both men sat quietly for a while until Crichton suddenly focused on something Jackson had said in passing.  
  
"What do you mean Aeryn's human?"  
  
Before he could answer, the locking mechanism on the front door disengaged. The humans tensed and drew their weapons. Both relaxed as they saw Sa'di enter the living room and head in their direction.  
  
She had returned with clothing for Crichton and Jackson that consisted of non-descript gray shirts and trousers of the sort worn mainly by Brinisi merchants. She herself had undergone a bit of a transformation. Her hair was no longer in a tight bun, her complexion was no longer so ashen, and she had lost the formless dress she had been wearing and was now dressed in a more form-fitting and colorful gown. The change was actually quite remarkable. Crichton had never thought of her as being especially attractive, but he had obviously been wrong.  
  
"No offense, but I thought we were trying to be inconspicuous."  
  
Sa'di answered Jackson through Crichton. "I don't normally dress like this. If the Peacekeepers are looking for me, this won't match the descriptions they have."  
  
That seemed reasonable enough to both humans.  
  
"We can hide from the Peacekeepers for a while, but I don't know what else I can do for you. Is there some way for us to use the portal to escape?"  
  
Crichton had already discussed this with Jackson. "The gate's under guard, and we can't power it anyway, and even if we could, we can't get to Earth without the Asgard device."  
  
"So what do we do?"  
  
"We wait. Daniel says his people will come back for the weapon. We'll try to contact them when that happens." He said nothing of the transmitter.  
  
"How are they supposed to get back if the portal is being guarded."  
  
"I don't know. We just have to hope they come up with something."  
  
Sa'di took this information in and said nothing, apparently resigned to wait with the humans for as long as necessary. She suddenly brightened.  
  
"I have some good news. Those metallic disks the off worlders were looking for. I know they took some of them when they left." She looked at Jackson. "And I know he has some of them. It turns out the rest weren't taken by the Peacekeepers. I've been in contact with some of the other researchers from the project. When the Peacekeepers attacked, they got to the portal first and took as much as they could. I should be able to get some of them to you in a few days."  
  
--------------------  
  
The following morning, Carter found Aeryn still hunched over the terminal and staring at images of Earth. She had evidently cleaned herself up and changed into standard Air Force fatigues.   
  
"Good morning, Aeryn. Did you sleep at all?"   
  
Aeryn shook her head fractionally to indicate that she hadn't.   
  
"I see you're still running that program. I'm sorry we couldn't give you something a little more sophisticated. This thing was designed to be colorful and pleasant; it doesn't really go into much depth on anything. We'll see about getting you something more interesting later. For now, I have a little good news. The translation devices arrived earlier this morning. If you would follow me we'll see what we can do with them."   
  
Carter led Aeryn to the medical facility, where O'Neill, Teal'c and Fraser were waiting. There were greetings all around as Carter opened a case containing a number of triangular metallic pieces about one inch across.   
  
"According to Daniel's notes, these things are supposed to be placed on the temple. It should be painless and safe, but Dr. Fraser is going to monitor us for a few hours just to be sure. Well, here goes nothing."   
  
With that, she placed one of the triangles against her head. There was a click as it bonded to her skin.   
  
"O.k., Aeryn, try saying something."   
  
"Do, you understand me?"   
  
Carter smiled at that. "You sound a little funny, and your mouth isn't matching the words I hear, but yeah, I understand you."   
  
The look of relief on Aeryn's face was unmistakable.   
  
"I have a number of questions about this mission. I also need to tell you ..."   
  
Carter held up her hands. "Hold on just a second. I know you're eager to communicate now that you can, but let's try this on the others first."   
  
Teal'c and O'Neill placed identical devices to their head just as Carter had done, and they sealed themselves in place.   
  
"Try to say something again."   
  
"Hello. Do you understand me?"   
  
"Indeed I do, Aeryn Sun. Your voice sounds strange to me as Major Carter said, but the meaning is clear."   
  
O'Neill just tapped the triangle at his temple. "Nothing yet, Carter. I just heard the same backwards sounding gibberish. No offense ...."   
  
"I was afraid of that. We still don't know why Machello built these things, but it seems they were designed specifically for Goa'uld. Teal'c's symbiote and what's left of Jolinar in me seems to be enough to trigger them."   
  
"Aeryn, I'm afraid Teal'c and I are the only ones who are going to be able to understand you."   
  
"I don't frelling care. Just as long as I can communicate with someone. There are a number things I need to ask you."   
  
"O.k., why don't we get some breakfast and you can ask away."   
  
Fraser interrupted. "Not so fast. I want MRIs of you and Teal'c first. I want to see if those things are doing anything unusual. I'm afraid Officer Sun's questions will have to wait just a little while."   
  
Aeryn was not in a mood to be pleasant. "Fine. Do whatever the frell you need to do, but get it over with fast."   
  
"Janet, she said ...."   
  
"I think I got the gist."   
  
"Uh, Carter?"   
  
"Sir?"   
  
"How the hell do I get this thing off?"   
  
--------------------   
  
Calis had just finished another meeting with Scorpius. It had taken some effort to convince that short-sighted monstrosity to part with the schematics the Peacekeepers had seized, but she had eventually managed it. It wasn't as if there was any danger of the humans making off with them. They had nowhere to go and were under constant surveillance.   
  
On the way back, she had been considering how best to handle the humans. Jackson was a problem, since she couldn't communicate with him directly. It would be necessary to remedy that as soon as possible. He also seemed to distrust her instinctively. She needed to do something about that as well. She had already decided that it would be essential to firmly ally herself to at least one of the humans, but she hadn't yet decided which one to focus on first.   
  
Crichton was the obvious choice since he had known her under different circumstances and seemed to trust her. He was the scientist and had discussed the weapon in some detail with Carter. Too bad she had gotten away, but there was no point in worrying about that.   
  
Calis had read Jenavian Chatto's report on Crichton, and had been considering an attempt at seduction. He had obviously been compliant before. However, the present situation was different and Crichton's attachment to the traitor, Sun, had obviously strengthened in the preceding three cycles. The attempt might backfire. Calis decided to hold that option in reserve for now.   
  
Crichton might have a better understanding of the weapon, but Jackson knew the language the disks were written in. Gaining his confidence would have advantages as well. She was also concerned that his continued suspicion might undermine Crichton's trust in her. It might be best to address that problem before it became significant. Also, in Jackson's case, she was unaware of any complication of the sort Sun presented for Crichton. That too could work to her advantage.   
  
As she neared the house where the humans were concealed, Calis decided that she needed to observe them a little longer before deciding on a specific course of action. For now, she would continue to be as helpful as possible and make sure they understood that she was indispensable to them.   
  
As she entered the house, she found Crichton and Jackson waiting in the small living room while their hosts silently and mechanically prepared the mid-day meal. *Frelling idiots* They looked as if they were on KP duty. She would have to see to a reprimand when all this was over.   
  
She handed a small package to Jackson. "I managed to get some of the disks. The others are spread among several people throughout the city. I'll see what I can do about getting those to you soon."   
  
Crichton translated, and Jackson simply said, "Thank you."   
  
"We can't have him unable to talk to anyone. I have a friend who's a doctor. I think I can get an injector and some translator microbes."   
  
"That's a good idea, Sa'di." Turning to Jackson, he said, "She wants to inject you with translator microbes."   
  
Jackson looked a little disturbed by that. "I don't know how I feel about having microbes colonize my brain, but I guess we don't have much choice." He turned to Sa'di and nodded.   
  
"Good. We should eat now. We need to get moving. I don't think it's safe to stay in one place for too long."   
  
There was no argument, and the three fugitives from the Peacekeepers sat down for a quick meal with their very quiet hosts.   
  
--------------------  
  
Aeryn Sun was taking her frustrations out on the only thing that would stand still for it. She was beating the life out of a heavy punching bag. It was a little different than her setup on Moya, but adequate for the purpose. As she executed a series of complex, coordinated blows, the focus required and the attendant physical exhaustion were almost enough to take her mind off Crichton. However, she knew that would last only as long as she kept hitting the bag.   
  
She heard someone approach from behind and stopped, a little annoyed at the interruption.   
  
"Greetings, Aeryn Sun. I hope you do not mind the intrusion."   
  
Upon hearing the voice, Aeryn decided that she didn't mind at all. There were only two people on this planet she could talk to, and this was one of them. Except where John was concerned, she had never really been one for conversation, not even when she was a Peacekeeper. Having the option taken from her made all the difference. She felt comfortable around Teal'c in a way that she didn't with any of the humans. She spent more time with Carter and had not only become dependent on her but had also come to like her. However, Teal'c was an outsider like her, and that made some things easier. She didn't have the feeling that she was constantly being appraised by John's people, even if she knew that it was probably all in her head.   
  
"Not at all. I was just trying to keep busy."   
  
"I understand. Physical activity can be a useful distraction at times. Your concern for Dr. Crichton has been quite evident. Rest assured that you will be reunited with him."   
  
Aeryn simply nodded. There wasn't really anything to say to that. She changed the subject.   
  
"So you've been on Earth for a number of cycles ... years now. Do you feel that you have adjusted, or do things still seem strange to you?"   
  
"I have become accustomed to life here, but it has not become my home. I suspect that your situation and mine are similar in some ways, Aeryn Sun, but different in others. We are both fugitives from our people and would be treated by them as traitors. I, however, plan to return to Chulak someday when the Goa'uld are finally defeated. It is my understanding that you have no desire to return to your people. Is there nowhere you consider home?"   
  
Aeryn thought about that for moment. "I suppose maybe Moya. That's the closest thing I've ever had to a home." Then she added, "But only if John was there with me." The words were out before she had a chance to consider them. Of course, she meant it, but she hadn't expected to say it to anyone except John. She looked away slightly embarrassed.   
  
"You are concerned about adjusting to life here with Dr. Crichton. I suspect that you have nothing to fear. It is clear how you feel about him. It was equally clear on Brinisa, at least to anyone with eyes, how he feels about you. You say that Moya was a home for you with him there. I assure you that Earth will be as well, should you both decide to stay."   
  
Teal'c didn't do a lot of talking, so it was difficult to gauge him at times. Aeryn was surprised by how easily he had seen through her worries. Was she that transparent? It didn't really matter. There was no point in thinking that far ahead until they got John back. However, she was grateful for Teal'c's attempt at reassurance, and she said, barely above a whisper, "Thank you."   
  
Teal'c smiled and bowed his head in acknowledgement.   
  
"I observed some of your attack patterns a moment ago. They are very unusual and most intriguing. Perhaps you would consider sparring with me."   
  
"I would welcome it. I tried it with some of the humans a few days ago, but Samantha asked me to stop. I caused a few injuries, and apparently, that is discouraged. I find it very strange."   
  
"Yes. The Tau'ri are fine warriors, but they have a very different approach to certain things than the Jaffa and, I suspect, the Peacekeepers. They do not endanger their people unnecessarily during training or when an objective is not deemed sufficiently important. I too found this attitude strange in the beginning, but have come to respect its implications. They have a reverence for life that is all too uncommon."   
  
Before Aeryn had a chance to respond, they heard the sound of footsteps and turned to find Carter approaching.  
  
"There you two are. I've been looking for you. The general wants us in the conference room in 15 minutes. We have guests. The Tok'ra council has approved our plan, and we're going to meet with their representative."   
  
Aeryn suddenly found herself more energized than she had been in days. Things were finally moving, and the faster it went, the faster she could get back to Brinisa.   
  
"Give me a few microts to shower and change, and I'll join you." She headed to her quarters alone.   
  
It had been ten days since her inadvertent and totally unexpected trip to Earth, and the humans were allowing her greater freedom with each passing day. At first, she had been escorted everywhere, and there was always a guard posted outside her door. Now, with the exception of the armory and a few restricted areas, she had the run of the base. Aeryn suspected that the increasing trust they placed in her had more than a little to do with Major Carter.   
  
She spent more time with Carter than anyone else. In addition to being one of only two people who could understand her, Aeryn suspected that Carter had taken her on as a personal project, probably out of loyalty to John. For her part, Aeryn had accepted the attention not only because she needed Carter but because she had been John's friend ... and more she reminded herself occasionally, but that wasn't relevant to the situation at hand.   
  
--------------------   
  
"It's been ten days. No sign of your people."   
  
"It might be ten weeks, John. There's no way to tell. We just have to be patient."   
  
"Patient ... "   
  
"I know you're worried about her, but she's safe. I give you my word on that."   
  
"It's not that. I believe you, and Aeryn can take care of herself anyway. It's just that she must be going out of her mind by now. She can't even talk to anyone on Earth."   
  
"My friends are smart people, John. They'll figure something out, and I'm willing to bet Aeryn will be with them when they come to get us."   
  
Jackson took out a small device he kept concealed in his backpack.   
  
"It's close to noon. You keep an eye on the door while I send the signal."   
  
"Daniel, do you still think we should keep this little toy of yours from Sa'di? She's the only thing that's kept us alive so far."   
  
"Believe me, I'm grateful, but it's standard procedure. I never used to see any sense in this cloak and dagger stuff myself, but the past few years have taught me a few things about staying alive."   
  
"Yeah ... I know the feeling."   
  
--------------------   
  
Aeryn walked into the conference room to find SG-1 and General Hammond in conversation with a woman wearing ... not very much at all.   
  
The general made introductions. "Officer Sun, this is Anise, representing the Tok'ra council. Anise, Aeryn Sun, formerly of the Peacekeeper military."   
  
"It is a pleasure to meet you Aeryn Sun."   
  
Aeryn was surprised by the strange, resonant quality of Anise's voice. She nodded once in greeting.   
  
"You haven't missed anything yet. We just started. Please continue Anise."   
  
"The Tok'ra will provide you with two transport vessels and two pilots. We have already begun the disassembly procedures, we expect to have both vessels fully reassembled at the launch site in four days. As per our agreement, any information you recover will be shared with the Tok'ra."   
  
Aeryn blurted out, "Then we move in four days?"   
  
Carter translated for the group, and O'Neill responded.   
  
"I'm afraid not, Aeryn. We won't be charging in blindly. This isn't an invasion, it's a surgical strike. Once the transports are in place, we send in a reconnaissance team. With luck, the Tok'ra ships should be able to get through Peacekeeper scans without any trouble. They blend in as best they can and collect information on troop deployment, movement of senior people, and the layout of their base of operations. The best case scenario is that we snatch someone who knows where the schematics for the weapon are. At the very least, we destroy the gate room, control mechanism and their headquarters. It would be nice if we could destroy the gate, but that would mean wiping out the Brinisi capital as well, so that's out."   
  
Of course, this all made sense to Aeryn, but that didn't stop her from quietly making a fist so tight that her nails almost cut into her palm. They were talking about at least another 10 days. John would be alone for at least that long. Well, he wasn't entirely alone. He had Jackson, whom she trusted because the humans did, and Sa'di, whom she trusted not at all. This reminded her of something as they were exiting the conference room.   
  
"Samantha, did you have a chance to examine the residue from that explosion." She had voiced her suspicions about the Brinisi woman almost as soon as she could communicate, but in all the excitement she hadn't thought of this until just a few days ago.   
  
"Yeah, I was going to talk to you about that. You were right. The metallic fibers on our clothes couldn't possibly have done damage. They're something like strands of mylar. You said those explosives are designed to expel fine shards that cause puncture wounds, an antipersonnel weapon like claymores? Well, they definitely modified them so they wouldn't hurt anyone."   
  
Aeryn ignored the unfamiliar words but got the point. "So the explosion was staged? Why would they do that?"   
  
"I have no idea, but it certainly lends credence to your suspicions about that woman. You said you saw her do something with her wrist right before they went off."   
  
"Yes."   
  
After the elation of finding out that the plan was finally in motion, Aeryn was now more worried than she had been before. Whatever the humans made of this evidence, there was now no doubt in her mind that she had left John in the hands of someone very dangerous.   
  
--------------------   
  
She couldn't understand it. As far as he knew, he could be captured and subjected to torture and death at any time, but instead of worrying about himself all he did was babble about Aeryn Sun. He did it nonstop in her presence now, ever since the fiasco of three days earlier.   
  
Calis had kept them constantly on the move and increasingly dependent on her. She thought it was working. Jackson had questioned her a few times early on, but he no longer did. Whenever they 'found' someplace to stay for a few days, they fell into a simple routine. Jackson would work on the translation, and if the material had anything to do with the weapon, he would go over it again and again with Crichton until they were sure what the inscription meant. She would listen intently and secretly record everything.   
  
She had been forced to supply large amounts of material from the dig, since the Peacekeepers had no idea what was important. This had proved very frustrating because Jackson seemed to be as interested in meaningless cultural information as he was in the schematics. Crichton was no help; he barely seemed interested in anything. It was left to her to try to keep things on track, but she couldn't afford to appear too eager.   
  
They had been moving every two or three days, and following this pattern. Calis disappeared each day to secure food and supplies and to periodically recover more of the disks from her supposed colleagues. Things had been going smoothly if slowly. The only miscalculation, at least that she saw, had happened three days ago.   
  
Crichton had been in a somewhat less abysmal mood than usual. She had joined him as he looked out an open window and watched the setting sun. It seemed like a perfect opportunity to make a move and further ingratiate herself. She sat close and spoke about the upheaval of the past several days, her grief at losing Celas and her constant fear of venturing out each day. She closed the distance between them as she spoke until she was leaning against his shoulder. He put his arm around her. It seemed to be working. He was trying to comfort her, telling her that everything would be alright. While he spoke, she slowly turned in his embrace, and before he knew what was happening, kissed him lightly. She had fully expected a response, but the one she got took her by surprise. He stiffened instantly, removed his arm and stepped away.   
  
She remembered the look of total confusion as he backed away saying, "Sa'di, I'm sorry. I think you may have misinterpreted things. I ..."   
  
She had cut him off, trying to salvage the situation as best she could. "No, John. I apologize. I didn't mean to give offense. I'll leave you alone now." She had assumed her most wounded expression as she walked away. She still had no idea what the frell had gone wrong. Could he really be that dedicated to Sun? Or was it just some primitive and incomprehensible alien nonsense. In any event, Crichton had made sure that he was not alone with her again.   
  
Well, if seduction wouldn't work, perhaps she could still use this. He was obviously feeling guilty about hurting her. That might prove an advantage.   
  
Calis' train of thought was interrupted as Jackson jumped up and said, "Yes! It's exactly what I thought."   
  
"Sorry. Got a little carried away. This is a historical record that describes how the original inhabitants of this planet transported tens of thousands of people from a primitive world. The description of the system they came from definitely matches Earth." He looked up from his work at two blank faces.   
  
"Don't you see? This means that Sebaceans, Brinisi, anyone who looks human in this part of the galaxy are actually the descendants of human slaves. It's the same pattern as the Goa'uld, only much earlier."   
  
Calis blurted out with genuine contempt, "Don't be frelling ridiculous!"   
  
Both humans stared at her as she quickly covered her indignation. "I mean, that sounds rather unlikely doesn't it?"   
  
"No, not really. As I said, the Goa'uld have done it repeatedly, and some of the people they displaced are now far more advanced that your people or the Peacekeepers."   
  
Calis said nothing. The human was a fool. It was inconceivable that Sebaceans were descended from primitives, and slaves at a that. It took an effort on her part not to kill him on the spot for implying something so hideous.   
  
--------------------   
  
Aeryn had been on Earth two weekens, and each day was worse than the last. She knew that the longer John was on Brinisa, the more likely it was that the Peacekeepers would find him. Had she been objective, she would have admitted that it was likely they had already found him, but she refused to accept that possibility. Her days had consisted of long sessions with various military personnel and endless questions about not only the Peacekeepers and the Brinisi but about everything else they could think of. Carter usually served as interpreter, although Teal'c sometimes assumed that role.   
  
When she wasn't being questioned or having yet another battery of medical tests performed on her, she was familiarizing herself with the slowly developing details of the mission and with the equipment they would be using. Aeryn had been impressed by the human weapons. They were primitive in terms of technology, but she could appreciate that they were designed with the end user in mind, something the Peacekeepers often forgot.   
  
Even so, Aeryn had expressed some initial reservations about the humans using their own weapons instead of the more advanced Goa'uld weapons they had stockpiled. However, it soon became apparent that their projectile weapons were ideal for use against the Peacekeepers. The shielding and personal armor they used consisted mostly of light, ablative material designed to absorb and dissipate fire from energy weapons. They were largely useless against more primitive projectile weapons. The brief firefight in the Brinisi gate chamber and some tests the humans did on Aeryn's pulse rifle confirmed this. Carter had informed Aeryn that this matched their experience with several other advances races. It seemed that technology could sometimes blind one to the obvious.   
  
If her days were occupied with details about the mission, her nights were spent mostly in immersing herself in information on Earth. Carter had given her access to the non-secure portion of the SGC's computer system as well as some basic instruction, which was greatly complicated by the fact that Aeryn couldn't read. She now had endless streams of audio information, images, longer videos on various subjects, and an enormous collection of music. The last had come as the biggest surprise. The Peacekeepers had simple martial music only, and in her limited experience, other species tended to have fairly narrow ideas about what constituted music. One Luxan shilquen composition sounded very much like every other Luxan shilquen composition. One Delvian religious hymn sounded very much like every other Delvian religious hymn. Aeryn had been unprepared for the variety and shear volume of human music. She listened to as many different types as she could and found that she liked a great deal of it and disliked a fair amount of it as well. That was comforting in its own way.   
  
As for being unable to read English, Aeryn had actually started to tackle that problem head on. She had spent a few arns each of the past few nights with an elementary language program, obviously designed for young children. She was learning, very slowly, not only how to interpret the symbols but how to make the sounds. Having an inanimate computer as partner helped considerably, since the microbes didn't interfere. Aeryn felt foolish at times when her correct responses were rewarded by simple music and dancing animals, but she put up with it. She decided this would be her surprise for John.   
  
Sleep was impossible for more than a few arns a night. Even when she was fully occupied, Aeryn was constantly worrying about John. When she attempted to rest, the worry became overwhelming. After her nightly study sessions, she had taken to exercising to the point of physical collapse. It was the only way she could sleep at all. Carter brought the subject up soon after her arrival on Earth. She and Fraser suggested that Aeryn take some sleep medication, but she categorically refused. She was beginning to trust the humans, but she would not allow her senses to be dulled under any condition.   
  
The trust she had developed in such a short time was another surprise. Carter in particular had become a friend. It was a novel experience for Aeryn. When she was a Peacekeeper, there were people she called 'friend', but any one of them would have betrayed her without a second thought if duty required it. She knew all too well about that. It wasn't until her exile on Moya that Aeryn had learned something about what friendship meant, and even then it had taken her the better part of a cycle to overcome her training enough to start regarding her crewmates as friends. These humans were different. Of course, she was also a very different person than she had been.   
  
--------------------   
  
"Come in," Aeryn responded to Carter's now familiar knock.   
  
"Good morning, Aeryn. How are you today?"   
  
She looked up from the computer, smiled and said far more pleasantly than she felt, "Good morning, Samantha. I'm fine. How are things going with the Tok'ra?"   
  
"They expect to have the transports reassembled later today. After that, it's 16 hours to Brinisa. They'll do several passes over the city, collect what data they can, and insert our observers."   
  
"Good. They'll be able to pick up Jackson's signal?"   
  
"Yeah. But even if John and Daniel are still in hiding from the Peacekeepers, they won't try to make direct contact. We'll have someone observe the Brinisi woman first. We have you to thank for that piece of intelligence. No matter what, we can't compromise the overall mission."   
  
"Of course," Aeryn said with resignation. She didn't care about the frelling overall mission, but this was the only way the humans would proceed. She almost wished she hadn't said anything about Sa'di, but it was better for everyone, including John, that they went in as fully informed as possible.   
  
"In the mean time, I have a surprise for you. How would you like to get out the base for a while?"   
  
That got Aeryn's attention. "What do you mean?"   
  
"Well, we're expecting data on the layout of the city and the gate site within 24 hours. We're going to start constructing a mockup of the site for training right after that, and naturally, you're going to be involved. So either way, we're taking you above ground in about a day. General Hammond and Dr. Fraser have already given approval for you to leave the base under escort."   
  
"In the mean time, I've been ordered to Washington to brief some of our senior scientists on the relativistic weapon, at least on what we know about it so far. I thought you might want to come along. The briefing itself shouldn't take long, and there's nothing for us to do here until the reports from our field operatives are processed and transmitted. It would give you an opportunity to see a little more of Earth than what's in those videos, and," she tried to sound casual, "it might give you something to tell John about when you see him."   
  
Aeryn was on her feet instantly. She didn't need any convincing. "Let's go."  
  
"Not so fast. We don't want to attract attention, so we're going to have to find a way for you to blend in a little."   
  
"I could wear my own clothing."   
  
"Trust me. That would probably attract some attention. Airman ...."   
  
Someone entered Aeryn's quarters carrying what looked like a uniform. She realized immediately that it resembled nothing she had seen at the SGC.   
  
"We've come up with a cover story for you that might help with the language problem as well."   
  
Assuming a tone of mock severity, Carter said, "Aeryn Sun, welcome to the Russian Air Force."   
  
"I don't understand."   
  
"You know that Earth is divided into different countries, right?" When Aeryn nodded, she continued. "Well, you are going to play the part of a visiting military observer from another country, specifically Russia. That will explain why you don't speak English, but you shouldn't say too much out loud when we're in public since you don't sound even a little Russian."   
  
"Why did you choose this, what is it ... Russia?"   
  
"For one thing, I speak some Russian, so I can communicate with you in public without breaking cover. Also, the Russians control the second Stargate, and they know about the weapon. We have a treaty obligation to share any important technology recovered through the gate. So we were able to ask permission to borrow the identity of one of their officers. Don't worry. We didn't tell them why, and they don't know anything about you. They just went along because it's connected to the Stargate."   
  
"Why don't you change and meet me in my office when you're ready."   
  
Aeryn almost felt guilty at her excitement, but she couldn't really contain it. There was nothing she could do for John just yet, but she would frelling well be ready with a few stories whenever she did get back to him. After a bit of uncertainty about what went where, she managed to get the uniform on and headed to Carter's office.   
  
"Looks good. So, are you ready to go?"   
  
"Very much so. By they way, what's my rank?"   
  
"Captain. Specifically, you are Captain Irina Petrovna Tuchina, senior instructor at the Zhukovsky Academy, and currently assigned to the Russian Stargate project."  
  
It occurred to Aeryn that she had just been promoted. All it took was becoming a fugitive from her people, joining up with a group of criminals, falling in love with an alien and ending up on the other side of the galaxy. It wasn't quite the career path she had planned in her youth, but it had certainly been more colorful.  
  
As they headed from Carter's office to the elevator Aeryn had never been allowed to approach, two guards fell into step behind them.   
  
"So, are they here to protect me from Earth or to protect Earth from me?"   
  
"A little of both, I suppose."   
  
"Not the answer I was expecting, but thank you for the candor."   
  
All four entered the elevator and Aeryn could sense that they were ascending a fairly long way. She had no idea until just now that they had been that far underground. After they reached the top level, there were a series of checkpoints and armed guards until they arrived at a collection of vehicles of some kind. Carter motioned for Aeryn to join her in the rear of one of them while their escorts took the front seats, and one of them operated the vehicle. They passed through a very long tunnel with yet more armed guards and a succession of heavy blast doors.   
  
As they passed outside, the sudden glare of sunlight blinded her for an instant. The air was cold. Carter had told her that it was nearing winter in this region of the planet. At least there was no snow or ice. Rain was one thing, but Aeryn had developed a deep aversion to ice.   
  
"It's a couple of miles to the airstrip, then 5 hours by air to Washington."   
  
"Five arns?"   
  
"Remember that we don't have your transportation technology. It takes us a while longer to get anywhere."   
  
The flight itself was uneventful but a little disconcerting for Aeryn. The technology involved was even more primitive than that on Farscape One, and she would have felt much more comfortable if she were doing the flying. The interior of the craft was considerably more comfortable than any transport she had ever seen. It was just the four of them from the SGC, two pilots and an Airman serving refreshments. In her old life, a space this large would have been considered a waste if it carried anything less than 50 Peacekeepers. She asked Carter about that.   
  
"Oh, don't think this is normal for our military either. It's just that working on a top secret project with a massive budget has a few perks."   
  
Aeryn considered that for a moment. It was probably much the same with the Peacekeepers. "I wouldn't know anything about that. I was just a simple soldier."   
  
That piqued Carter's curiosity. "Can I ask you how you and John met? He sort of summarized things when we were in the Brinisi detention center, but he was obviously editing a lot out."   
  
Aeryn thought back to the day nearly five cycles ago when her life had been turned upside down. "Well, I suppose we met because I was a little overzealous and failed to obey an order ...."   
  
She spent the better part of the next arn explaining in some detail what had happened that day. Their security was at the other end of the cabin, so they were essentially alone. She hadn't intended to reveal as much as she did, but she felt comfortable with Carter and once she started, she just kept going.   
  
"So this Crais. From what John said, you had trouble with him later too?"   
  
Aeryn immediately shut down. "Yes." She wasn't comfortable enough to get into that.   
  
Carter sensed that this was a line of inquiry best left untouched, so she focused on something else.   
  
"Do you mind if I ask you when you and John became more than friends?" She wasn't sure if that would be a touchy subject too, but Aeryn started talking again.   
  
"I suppose I always realized there was something different about him. I don't know when my .... feelings .... started to factor in. I know I denied it for a long time. If I had to narrow it down, I would say a little over two, maybe two and a half, cycles ago, although things didn't go very smoothly at first. I ....uh .... well, it was all very new to me. Peacekeepers don't form long term relationships of any kind. I didn't know what the frell I was doing, and I suppose John didn't expect certain things either. We both made some mistakes." She paused, again withdrawing into herself for a few moments but then brightened a little. "But that's all behind us."   
  
Carter was surprised that Aeryn had been willing to reveal so much. They talked frequently, but until now, things had rarely ventured onto personal topics and almost never onto anything of consequence.   
  
"You've known John for a long time."   
  
"Yeah. We've been friends for around 15 years." She decided not to venture beyond that.   
  
"You were also more than a friend at one point, were you not?"   
  
Carter looked at Aeryn in surprise. "He told you about that?"   
  
"In the detention center. We don't keep secrets from one another."   
  
"It was a long time ago, and it was never very serious."   
  
"That's what John said."   
  
"You two are very lucky, you know. It's obvious to anyone who spends five minutes with you how much you mean to each other. Leave it to John to have to travel to the other end of the galaxy to finally find someone who's right for him."   
  
"Was there no one else in his past who was .... right for him?"   
  
Carter considered the question carefully before answering.   
  
"Aeryn, I've known John a long time. He's been in love before, seriously enough to consider marriage at one point. But I am telling you with absolute certainty that I have never seen him the way he is when he's around you. If you're worried that things will change once you're both on Earth, don't be. There's nothing here to threaten you, at least not where John is concerned."   
  
Was everyone around here a frelling psychic? Aeryn didn't know how to respond to that or how to convey her genuine gratitude to Carter for saying it so she just remained silent.  
  
Carter took her silence for acknowledgement. "Well, that's enough of that. We've still got a few hours before we get to Washington. How would you like to see a movie?"   
  
"A what?"   
  
"It's a story in video form, fictional in this case. I've picked something you might find kind of fun. It gives you a little taste of what humans have dreamt about when they consider space and what might be out there. It's a little thing called Star Wars. Try not to laugh too hard."   
  
As the fanciful and somewhat bewildering images finished playing, Aeryn decided that her initial assessment had been correct. Humans were bizarre. The pilot announced over a speaker system that they were about to land, and Aeryn put on the simple restraints attached to her seat.   
  
"This is Andrews Air Force Base. We'll be here for about an hour and a half while I give my briefing, and then we'll see about giving you a little taste of Earth."  
  



	4. .

It was ridiculous, but a lifetime of training and carefully developed instincts were not things to be casually ignored. As she made her way through the city towards the rendezvous point, she could feel that she was being shadowed. It couldn't be the humans. They could barely cross a street without tripping over themselves.   
  
Whoever was following her, if there was anyone at all, was very good indeed. She wouldn't tell anyone just yet. Those Pleisar morons would have no idea how to handle the situation. They would simply end up tipping off her pursuer that she was on to him. She would just have to be more vigilant from now on.   
  
He was exactly where he was supposed to be.   
  
"Lieutenant Braca. Do you have the supplies?"   
  
"Yes, sir. I have the next batch of disks and the food you wanted. If I may ask, are you sure it's a good idea to supply them with such quantity and variety of food? Won't the humans become suspicious?"   
  
"You let me worry about their suspicions. Besides, we have to keep Jackson and Crichton on a healthy diet if we're going to get anything useful out of them. Now, here are the latest recordings. I suggest you get them back to your freak of a superior with all due haste."   
  
Braca smirked a little at the last comment and left.   
  
Calis headed back to their current hideout, still unable to shake the feeling that something was wrong.   
  
--------------------   
  
The briefing went without incident. Only a few of those present were aware of Aeryn's true identity. As far as the rest were concerned, she was Captain Tuchina of the Russian Air Force, currently visiting her counterpart in the American Stargate project. Carter and their two constant companions were able to deflect attention from her by calling her away or interrupting anyone who tried to engage her in conversation.   
  
Aeryn already knew the basics points of Carters presentation and wouldn't be able to follow the more abstruse ones anyway, so she took the opportunity to observe the listeners. Most were civilians. A few were military officers. It was obvious from the age and relatively elaborate uniforms of the latter that they must be fairly high ranking. Again, she was struck by the contrast to her own experience. These people didn't seem especially officious, and although it was clear that Carter was a subordinate by quite a margin, they still treated her with respect.   
  
After the briefing, they were escorted to another ground vehicle of a somewhat different configuration than the earlier one. This one had a much more comfortable interior. Aeryn had a brief opportunity to see some of the combat aircraft as they flew overhead. She was intrigued and more than a little disappointed when Carter informed her that it wouldn't be possible to take one up.   
  
"Well, we've got the rest of the day. I thought we would do some of the usual tourist things around D.C. I'm afraid it's going to be kind of a superficial look at Earth, but it's the best we can do in the time we have."   
  
"I understand, and I am grateful to you, Samantha. I know this goes well beyond your normal responsibilities."   
  
"Don't worry about it. It's my pleasure. I should warn you that there are going to be lots of people around doing essentially the same thing as us, and there's an off chance we might run into someone who speaks Russian. So I'm going to teach you a very short Russian phrase. I think if we just sound it out in pieces, very slowly, we can get past your microbes."   
  
For the remainder of the trip from Andrews to D.C., Carter drilled her again and again until Aeryn was able to say in fairly passable Russian, "Go away. I'm busy." Carter assured Aeryn that backed by her own natural and very obvious gift for intimidation, this would be enough to keep them out of trouble.   
  
--------------------   
  
"I'm not questioning you, Sa'di. I'm just saying that maybe we need to think a little more carefully before moving again. So far there's been no indication that the Peacekeepers have been on to any of our hiding places, but we keep moving."   
  
"We can't afford to take chances, Daniel."   
  
"I understand that, and I appreciate everything you've done for us, but I'm just saying that we might be exposing ourselves to more danger with these constant moves."   
  
"What do you think about all this, John?" she said in a more subdued voice. In the past few days, she had managed to make it quite clear to him that she had been thoroughly embarrassed by her earlier advance and his rejection. It seemed to be working. Unlike Jackson, he tried to be as accommodating as possible.   
  
"I don't know, Sa'di. Daniel may have a point. Do you really think they're likely to find us if we stay put."   
  
"I'm convinced of it, John. My friends tell me there were more patrols than usual in this area last night. We need to move."   
  
"I think we should go along with her, Daniel."   
  
"Fine. If both of you want to move, we move. Again."   
  
"Then it's settled. I'll see you in two or three arns. I need to get us some more supplies and I'm expecting to get some more of the disks today."   
  
She left them and headed to another meeting with Braca. The situation was starting to become uncomfortable. Crichton was still manageable, but Jackson's behavior over the past two days had become almost belligerent. All she needed was another weeken at most. After that, all the disks in Peacekeeper possession should have passed through his hands, and his cooperation would no longer be a factor. She would have him picked up and continue to work on Crichton.   
  
Another attempt at seduction might be worthwhile at that point. Crichton would be alone and more vulnerable, and she could turn up the pressure from the search patrols enough to unravel him. Calis was uncertain of how much of the details of Jackson's translations she had managed to record and how much had been missed. She couldn't be there all the time. Crichton was still useful if she could get him talking freely about the weapon's design, and having a hold over him would make that easier. Also, she had to admit that her prior failure rankled just a little.   
  
She was probably worrying about nothing. It was like that feeling of being followed, and she hadn't felt that again in nearly two days. The stress was simply affecting her. She could certainly manage two predictable primitives for another weeken.   
  
--------------------   
  
"So, what do you think?"   
  
"I think you may be right. The Peacekeepers aren't this incompetent, and the Sa'di I knew before all this started wouldn't have been able to outthink them for this long. I've known people to rise to the occasion when things get tough, but this is ridiculous. She went from mousy librarian to Mata Hari at the drop of a hat."   
  
"She's certainly well connected. Every time I finish a set of translations, she's ready with another batch of disks within a day or two."   
  
"She didn't have any friends before this started, at least not anyone except Celas. It doesn't make sense."   
  
"So you're willing to accept that she might be working with them? Maybe they have some hold over her. Family maybe."   
  
"I don't know, but I think it's a good thing you've been mistranslating things for a while. I thought you were nuts when you suggested it, but now I'm not so sure."   
  
Crichton paused, unsure whether to mention his other cause for suspicion, but it was incongruous enough that he needed to tell Jackson.   
  
"She came on to me a few days ago."   
  
"She did? That doesn't really seem like her, does it?"   
  
"It didn't fit at all. I was just embarrassed when it happened, but when I look back at it, it makes no sense. It's not something I would have expected from her. On top of that, she's been milking it for all it's worth since it happened."   
  
--------------------   
  
Aeryn had to admit that in spite of everything, she was enjoying herself, at least as much as could be expected under the circumstances. Before 'seeing the sights' as Carter had put it, they had stopped at a dining establishment of some sort. Aeryn had been surprised at the nature of the place. Her time in the Uncharted Territories had not prepared her for large numbers of people simply enjoying themselves, at least not this way. There were families and children everywhere, apparently without any concerns beyond enjoying a meal. Nothing in her past had really prepared her for this, and she felt a vague sense of jealousy at some of what she saw.   
  
It was at that point that the one disturbing aspect of her excursion had started. People, mostly men, kept staring at her. She had asked Carter about that only to receive an incredulous look.   
  
"You're kidding, right? I guess you Peacekeepers must have some very different attitudes about some things."   
  
That was all the explanation she had been given, and she still had no idea what it meant.   
  
Their next stop had been a large complex housing various Earth animals. Carter called it the National Zoo. At first, Aeryn objected to the idea of keeping these creatures in captivity, but she learned that part of the function of the place was conservation. The variety of animal life was astounding, and Aeryn was immediately taken with some of the larger predators.   
  
Things were going well until she came across something called a giant toad that looked not entirely unlike Rygel. The audio description even said it would eat anything that it could fit into its mouth. She smiled inwardly at that and decided that she would have to tell the little slug about it, if she ever saw him again. Of course, she probably never would see him or anyone on Moya again. Even if everything went according to plan with John, and she would not even entertain the alternative, Aeryn realized that her life had taken another turn.   
  
After the zoo, they traveled to the center of government and looked at some buildings and monuments. None of this really interested Aeryn. She was much more interested in the people around her. There were huge crowds doing exactly what she was doing. It gave her a sense of connection and of belonging that was very comforting. She would have preferred to share this first exposure to his people with John, but she appreciated it nonetheless. She couldn't wait to tell him about it.   
  
Carter took her to a collection of buildings called the Smithsonian Institution. Apparently, this was an archival facility of some sort. Aeryn was fascinated by some of what she saw and utterly bored by the rest. In one of the building were large skeletons of extinct animals. The animals themselves were not so exceptional. She had seen things as strange or stranger. What fascinated her was the extent to which humans had gone to preserve their past. Peacekeepers had very little sense of their own history. Almost nothing had been taught to her except for the names of a few battles and heroes, and she had learned from personal experience that not even the little she had been taught could be trusted.   
  
The exhibit outlining the evolutionary history of humans was fascinating. She would have to tell John about that too. It was hard to believe that he was first cousin to some of the creatures she had seen in that zoo.   
  
It was soon after this that she had embarrassed herself a little. She came across a display with a green figure. It looked vaguely familiar so she took a good look at it. Her sudden finger pointing and cry of alarm had attracted exactly the sort of attention they had been hoping to avoid. Their two escorts almost drew their weapons. Carter had come up to her and said, "Aeryn, that's just Kermit," And then proceeded to explain. How the frell was she supposed to know that the thing had never been alive in the first place. Her only experience of it had been from the instructional software Carter had given her.   
  
They stood now in a building that seemed dedicated to technology, if one could call it that. There were various flying craft and pieces of equipment, none of which seemed to approach even John's ship. Aeryn was thoroughly unimpressed.   
  
"I can understand the extinct creatures and the historical documents and even the stones and gems, but I don't understand this. All of this technology is far more primitive than what you use now. Why keep something like that," she pointed towards the ceiling at a cloth covered, wooden craft, "around for thousands of cycles."   
  
"Thousands of cycles? Aeryn, that thing up there is almost exactly 100 years old. I guess this is something you and John never talked about, not that there's a lot of reason it would have come up. Everything you see in this building is less than 100 years old."   
  
"Wait. You're telling me that your people went from that to the technology in John's module in less than 100 cycles?"   
  
"Yeah. That takes a lot of our 'guests' by surprise. We've noticed in interacting with more advanced species that a lot of them tend to progress much more steadily and slowly than we have. The Goa'uld are an exception, but they stole what they have, and even the Tollan had a massive head start. I guess the difference is that we tend to take blind leaps where other people think things through a little more carefully. Sometimes we hit on things that someone else might dismiss out of hand."   
  
Aeryn looked around the building again with a newfound appreciation of what she was seeing. Perhaps four and a half cycles with John should have prepared her for this. It had been a long time since she had underestimated him. The past few days had been a good indicator, but now she decided definitively that it would be best not to underestimate his people either.   
  
--------------------  
  
Aeryn was pouring over the file Carter had given her an arn earlier.   
  
She was making rapid progress with English. She could now sound out simple words without much difficulty, although she soon discovered that some things defied the rules and made no sense at all. Her vocabulary was developing as well and had been immeasurably aided by Carter's most recent contribution to her studies. It was a dictionary for children which associated words with images. Of course, many of the images made no sense, but enough of them did to give her a sense of accomplishment. English grammar, even the most rudimentary structures, still defeated her, but she was determined that she would manage it eventually. The last four cycles had taught her that there was very little she couldn't manage once she put her mind to it.   
  
Aeryn had also been introduced to the internet. There was very little she could do at this stage, since she still couldn't read. However, she could write out words of interest and was often rewarded with related images. The enormous volume of information available for public consumption had come as quite a surprise. With a little help from Carter, she had tried to search for a number of the things she saw during her excursion of the previous day. On a whim, she had also tried a search on the first English words she had ever seen, Farscape, IASA and John Crichton. She was rewarded with a number of documents showing John during various stages of his training and a few items that probably reported his death. That had inspired her to ask for the documents she was now reviewing.   
  
To Aeryn's surprise, Carter was able to supply a very thick file on John. It seemed that in the past few weekens, the SGC had collected everything they could about him. There were many written documents that meant nothing, but there was also a large collection of photographs. There were images of John as a child with his family, as a young man in various settings including some sort of ceremony, and many images of him only slightly younger than he was now.   
  
The one thing that made the greatest impact on her, even though she had always known it on an intellectual level, was just how far these images were removed from the life he had been living. She regretted not understanding in the early days just how hard an adjustment he had needed to make. Aeryn had made her own adjustments, of course, and they were just as dramatic, but at least she had the luxury of doing them in a world she understood.   
  
Among the various pictures, Aeryn immediately recognized several of John's father, and from context, she was able to pick out his mother and sisters. There was a man about John's age who featured prominently throughout. She guessed that this must be DK. In many of the later images, there was also a very attractive woman, and from the rather obvious nature of her relationship with John, this had to be Alex. Aeryn felt an unexpected wave of jealousy, which the rational part of her mind told her was ridiculous. As uncharitable as it seemed, the first thing that came to mind was, "That little blonde trelk wouldn't have survived two solar days out there."   
  
--------------------   
  
Ten years earlier, some recruiter had told him that joining the military would let him see the world. He certainly hadn't counted on this. Sgt. Ramirez was hiding in an alleyway on an alien planet, his only way home a ship piloted by a different set of aliens.   
  
His four man team had been inserted by the Tok'ra two days earlier. They had split up immediately to concentrate on different areas of the city. Since they didn't speak or understand the language, they were under orders to avoid all contact, operating at night and fading into the shadows during the day. At least the other three did. His job was different. He had the tracking instrument mated to Dr. Jackson's transmitter.   
  
Ramirez had found them on his first day here. Jackson transmitted 12 minutes after local noon. He had their hideout in sight less than an hour after that, just in time to see the Brinisi woman, Sa'di, returning from somewhere with a bundle. He had watched the little house for the remainder of the day until she emerged again near dusk.   
  
She was good. No obvious route, constant changes in direction, and he thought she had almost spotted him at one point. Almost an hour after setting out on a journey that should have taken 20 minutes, she had met with a Peacekeeper officer. He had gotten as close as he dared and took a number of photographs with the miniature camera he carried.   
  
When she headed back, Ramirez hadn't followed. One close call was more than enough. He returned to the house by a different route, and continued to observe. Sa'di followed roughly the same schedule each day, and it seemed the transmissions always occurred when she was away. He only hoped that Jackson was following protocol and hadn't told her about the transmitter. Today was his last day. Tonight the team would meet at the rendezvous point outside the city to be picked up by the Tok'ra.   
  
--------------------   
  
These past days had been Aeryn Sun's least frustrating since coming to Earth. Even the short trip to Washington had been constantly attended by worry for John. Recently there had been no time for worry, at least during the day. The Tok'ra had transmitted schematics of the city and gate site right after arriving at Brinisa. The humans had then quickly set up a mockup of both the gate site and the likeliest location of Peacekeeper headquarters. Even though Aeryn and SG1 would be conducting the search for the schematics and the rescue, they trained with the two assault teams as a contingency.   
  
If SG1 had impressed her, the teams assigned to the raids astounded her. Physically, they were no more fit, and probably less so, than Peacekeeper commandos. Man to man, she would have given herself the advantage against nearly any of them. However, their level of coordination was something Aeryn had never imagined in a lifetime of military service.   
  
If her days were now too busy to think much about John, she more than made up for it at night. The combination of exhaustion from training and the overwhelming worry that attacked her as soon as the training ended each day had taken a toll. She made less progress in her studies now, but she refused to give up. Instead, she doubled her efforts to make up for the decrease in efficiency.   
  
As she tackled the bewildering structure of yet another simple English sentence, she heard a knock at the door. There were only two people who knocked at her door, and she had learned to tell them apart.   
  
"Come in, Teal'c."   
  
"Aeryn Sun, how are you this evening?"   
  
"I'm fine. I'm just trying to learn this frelling language."   
  
"I fear I cannot offer advice in this area. My nanites greatly facilitated my efforts to read the language of the Tau'ri."   
  
"It doesn't matter. I'll manage. What did you want to see me about?"   
  
"I have news. The operatives whom the Tok'ra inserted into the Brinisi capital transmitted their report to the staging area moments ago and it is now being relayed through the Stargate. It seems that there is some word on the Daniel Jackson and John Crichton, although I do not yet know the details. Your presence is requested in the gate room."   
  
Aeryn jumped to her feet and raced out the door saying, "Why the frell didn't you say that in the first place?"  
  
--------------------   
  
It took only a few minutes to transmit the surveillance team's report through the gate, but Aeryn could barely contain herself. Copies were made and distributed to General Hammond, SG1 and the leaders of the two assault teams. Aeryn received a copy as well, but merely as a courtesy. Her language skills were far from equal to the task, so she had to wait for the briefing before she could find out about John. At least Carter had skimmed the report and let her know that John and Daniel were still out of Peacekeeper hands. The following hour was an exercise in frustration as Aeryn waited for the humans to read and absorb the report. She felt supreme relief that John was still safe, but became more anxious for details with every passing minute.   
  
The first order of business was the primary mission objective. They now knew with certainty that the Peacekeepers were headquartered in the Brinisi military complex, and they had detailed diagrams of both the complex and the gate site. From SG1's experience as detainees, they also had some idea of the internal layout of the base. The distribution and movement of Peacekeeper troops left a few windows of opportunity during which both objectives were lightly guarded and reinforcement would take some time to arrive. The Peacekeepers were clearly not expecting anything from what little remained of the local forces. There were random attacks now and then, but these were disorganized and very small scale, usually against individual Peacekeepers. Aeryn found herself on the receiving end of a number of questions she had already answered many times about standard Peacekeeper procedures during an occupation.   
  
Once the details had been presented, preliminary plans were quickly made for the strikes to be conducted in parallel at local dawn. The base was far enough removed from the population centers of the city to allow for use of Naquadah enriched high explosives and incendiary devices. They would simply burn the relevant buildings and everything in them to the ground. The gate site would receive similar attention. The gate itself could not be damaged without using enough force to destroy the city, so they would destroy the control mechanisms and all related artifacts. A dialing device would take long enough to reconstruct and only with considerable luck, but if the Peacekeepers had no information on how to calculate local gate coordinates, they could never operate the relativistic weapon even if they found a second gate. Furthermore, no information on the coordinate system meant that the Peacekeepers could not use the gate to threaten anyone else by transporting troops. Earth was safe from such an attack, but other worlds might not be. The specifics would be worked out by the assault teams over the next two days, and more intensive training would begin immediately.   
  
The next topic of discussion was the possibility of retrieving the schematics for the relativistic weapon. They suspected that these were being kept at Peacekeeper headquarters, but finding them without more specific information would be impossible.   
  
"That brings us to Daniel and Crichton, and these two," said O'Neill as he placed a photograph of a Brinisi woman and a Peacekeeper at the center of the conference table.   
  
Aeryn had been growing increasingly impatient until she heard mention of John's name and then saw the picture.   
  
"What the frell is this?"   
  
Understanding the gist of Aeryn's exclamation without need for translation, O'Neil responded, "It seems you were right about that Sa'di woman. She meets this guy every day and passes something to him and takes something back to Daniel and Crichton."   
  
"Then she has betrayed her own people to the Peacekeepers?" asked Teal'c.   
  
"She didn't betray a thing. I know him. That's Lt. Braca, Scorpius' second in command. Look at the picture. He's standing at frelling attention. That means she's a Peacekeeper and outranks him."   
  
"So she's a spy? That tracks with the firefight in the Brinisi gate room being staged and what you said about her triggering the fake explosives. Our man on the ground also says that she doesn't operate like an amateur." O'Neill continued, "But why go to the trouble?"   
  
"It kind of makes sense, sir. She has access to the schematics, and she has the one person who can translate them and someone who can interpret them directly. It might be more efficient to gain their trust than to use coercion. That bit of playacting in the gate room would have been part of it."   
  
O'Neill considered this for a few moments. "O.k. We have a target then. We can get information on the schematics and about Daniel and Jackson at the same time."   
  
"Are you suggesting that we seize this woman, Colonel?"   
  
"No, sir. That would arouse too much suspicion and guarantee that the Peacekeepers pick up our people right away. I mean him," he said pointing at Braca. "You said you know him, Aeryn. What can you tell us?"   
  
She spoke through Carter. "He was my superior officer when I was a Pleisar. He is an ambitious functionary, competent enough, but nothing exceptional."   
  
"Perfect."   
  
--------------------   
  
Braca was off duty. He was a creature of habit and often spent an arn or two every night at the same local tavern. The food was better than what he was used to in the fleet, they had passable raslak, and the local females who had taken to fraternizing with the occupying forces often congregated here.   
  
As he headed back to the temporary headquarters and another encounter with the abomination, his thoughts were elsewhere. Calis had said that one of the humans could be seized soon. Too bad it wasn't Crichton. He owed that one.   
  
The street was mostly desolate with only a few locals lounging about. A Brinisi brushed against him and he turned and shoved him aside roughly, saying, "Watch where you're frelling go...."   
  
He was unable to complete the thought much less the sentence as he felt someone come up behind him and cover his mouth, just as the first Brinisi lunged forward and touched something to his side. He felt a sharp jolt and everything went black.   
  
--------------------   
  
As he came to, he felt a sharp pain in his head and noticed that his hand was bandaged. He was on a vessel of some kind, a very advanced vessel by the look of things. There were five men. Four of them dressed in Brinisi clothing and one who looked different. When they spoke to one another, he realized that the fifth man also sounded very different. One of them noticed him.   
  
"Sir, it looks like our guest is awake."   
  
"So it seems, Sergeant. Lt. Braca, I presume. I'm Captain Richard Sorensen, United States Marine Corp., but I guess that means nothing to you. O.k. then, I'm from Earth." The man, the human Braca realized, was smiling at him and speaking in a carefree tone.   
  
He tried to control himself, but Braca knew that he was staring wide eyed like an idiot.   
  
"Relax Lieutenant. We're going to have a nice, quiet flight, and then you're going to take a little trip to Earth. There are some people who want to talk to you."   
  
Braca started to protest that his absence would be noticed and that these humans would be caught in no time.   
  
"I have no idea what you just said. No microbes you see. But I can guess. Don't worry about your friends missing you. They think you're dead. You know there have been a few attacks on Peacekeepers here and there. Well, guess what. You are a victim of one of them, and we made sure there were a couple of witnesses. You were stabbed, Lieutenant, and the culprits were lazy enough to leave behind the knife with your blood all over it." He pointed to Braca's bandaged hand. "At least they had the presence of mind to dispose of your body before the patrols found you too soon."   
  
Braca was beginning to panic. He looked around frantically, hoping to strike out.   
  
"Before you do something stupid, let me assure you that I have no qualms about hurting you, Lieutenant. I saw what your people have been doing to the locals on that planet. Let's just say I'm not your biggest fan right now." The smile never left the human's face.   
  
Braca felt himself deflate instantly.   
  
--------------------   
  
Calis was furious. Braca had missed their appointment and she was forced to go and talk to Scorpius in person. On top of that, he had kept her waiting nearly half an arn. She put on a neutral face so that her disgust wouldn't show.   
  
"Sir, Lt. Braca never showed. I suggest severe punishment...."   
  
"That won't be necessary, Commander. Braca is no longer in a position to learn anything from a reprimand."   
  
Calis just waited. She might have to obey this monstrosity, but she wouldn't engage it in any more conversation than necessary.   
  
Scorpius ignored her silence and continued. "It seems that the Lieutenant was a bit careless last night. He was attacked by two Brinisi and killed. The body hasn't been recovered, but we have several witnesses and a weapon with blood stains. The DNA matches Braca."   
  
Calis absorbed this information with no reaction. "I need a new liaison immediately."   
  
"Yes, and I need a new second in command. This is most inconvenient."   
  
--------------------   
  
Aeryn waited alongside Hammond, SG1 and half a dozen human soldiers with their weapons trained at the gate. The now familiar cascade effect was followed by two figures emerging, one with his wrists bound and another with a drawn sidearm.   
  
"Sir, reporting with the prisoner."   
  
"Thank you, Captain. Any trouble?"   
  
"No, sir. It went exactly as planned."   
  
"Very well, escort him to a holding cell."   
  
"Just a moment," Aeryn interrupted before Braca could be taken away.   
  
She walked up to him casually, stood before him, and punched him in the stomach hard enough to drop him to his knees, coughing uncontrollably.   
  
Hammond objected immediately. "Officer Sun, we do not treat our prisoners in that manner."   
  
"My apologies, sir. I just want him to know where he stands." She said that knowing the general couldn't understand her. It didn't matter, since it was intended for Braca's ears.   
  
--------------------  
  
One day you're doing your job and minding your own business. The next day, you're the prisoner of a group of primitives on some planet almost no one has ever heard of. As Braca paced back and forth in his small cell, he looked once again towards the outer door. The guard was still there, armed and motionless. He had ranted and raved at him at first, but there had been no reaction. After an arn or so of confinement, Braca had tried to regain some of his composure. The past day had been very disorienting, and he realized that he wasn't acquitting himself very well. Of course, he had never been in a position like this, and he told himself that his early panic had been understandable. After all, if Crichton was any indication, his people were insane. He had no idea what they might do to him.   
  
He had no way of telling time, but he guessed that he had been here at least three arns. He heard footsteps in the adjoining hallway and felt the panic start to rise again.   
  
Four people entered the room. He recognized Aeryn Sun immediately. The other three he remembered from the firefight in the Brinisi portal chamber. One of them addressed him.   
  
"I'm Colonel O'Neill. We have a few questions we want to ask you, Lieutenant."   
  
"Go frell yourself, human! You get nothing from me."   
  
At that, Sun lunged towards him, and he instinctively withdrew a few paces. Already, this was not going well.   
  
O'Neill hadn't needed a translation of that outburst; the point was obvious. "Let's dispense with the false bravado, Braca. You're not in the best position right now, but there is a way you can get yourself out of this. We have a little proposition for you. Carter."   
  
"We want details on the internal layout of your base and the location of the disks you removed from the Brinisi gate chamber. In exchange, we take you back to Brinisa, and let you go. As far as anyone knows, you were attacked by some locals. How you survived and got back is between you and your superiors."   
  
"You expect me to believe that you're just going to let me go?"   
  
"Believe what you want Lieutenant, but it's your only option. The alternative is to spend the rest of your life in confinement on Earth. We," she pointed around the room to indicate the four present, "won't hurt you, but others might not be so patient."   
  
The three humans seemed calm enough to Braca, but at the mention of these "others", he notices a cold smile descend on Sun's face.   
  
O'Neill took over from Carter. "It's a simple enough deal, Braca. You give us some information, and you get your life back, assuming you can talk fast enough with your own people. You don't, and at best you spend the rest of it in a little room like this. At worst, someone decides to hand you over to NID. They've been wanting to get their hands on an alien for years."   
  
Braca glanced at Sun but saw no reaction to O'Neill's last statement.   
  
"We'll give you a little time to think about it."   
  
Time. He didn't need any frelling time. If it came down to a choice between him and betraying that Scarren monstrosity, then there was no choice. He didn't for an instant believe that the humans would just keep him locked up, and he didn't need details to understand what O'Neill was implying about this NID. They would get him the instant he refused to help. He didn't believe that they would just let him go, but maybe there was a chance for better treatment if he cooperated.   
  
"Fine, I'll tell you what you want."   
  
The disgust on Sun's face was unmistakable. Why should he care? She was a traitor, a real one, not like him. She had turned her back on her people for the sake of some alien. He knew about her relationship with Crichton, and that disgusted him almost as much as Scorpius. Sex with an alien, especially one who looked Sebacean, was one thing, but the sort of commitment she had made was a violation of every belief that had been instilled in him, and in her, since childhood.   
  
Holding up an image, Sun said in a voice dripping with menace, "Tell me everything about her." It was a picture of him with Commander Calis. When had they managed to take that?   
  
He still tried to maintain a semblance of pride. "I said I would cooperate with the humans. That doesn't apply to you, traitor."   
  
"I think I can get them to leave me alone with you for half an arn. Would it apply then?"   
  
He didn't need this dren. Fine, if she wanted to know about Calis, he would tell her about Calis. "That is Commander Serina Calis. She's 12th directorate."   
  
"A disruptor?"   
  
He nodded.   
  
"What is she doing with the humans?"   
  
"They think she's keeping them safe. She's told them that she has contacts who hid the disks from the gate chamber. She gets a few to the humans every couple of days. They translate, and she records the translations and passes them back to us."   
  
"So they're safe for now."   
  
Braca nodded, "Yes." But he had obviously given something away because Sun was eyeing him suspiciously.   
  
"You are not going anywhere until we recover Crichton and Jackson. If you are holding anything back, I swear that I will gut you myself."   
  
"She....the translations are almost finished. She's going to have Jackson taken after that. She wants to spend some more time with Crichton to get whatever additional information she can on the weapon. She suspects that they might be holding something back from her."   
  
Sun nodded and left the room. That left him with the three humans, and the questions started in earnest.   
  
--------------------   
  
"You want me to come with you?"   
  
"Yes. We don't have a choice. The next segment is not on one of those disks and it's too large to carry in public. It must have been something you missed when you searched the chamber."   
  
"And you're sure it has something to do with the weapon?"   
  
"The markings look just like the other ones. We don't know for sure, but it seems likely."   
  
Jackson shared a look with Crichton. If Sa'di was working with the Peacekeepers, then they were already under surveillance. If he showed a reluctance to accompany her now, capture would be inevitable. He had no idea what he was being lead into, but he had to play along.   
  
When Sa'di wasn't looking, he made a point of catching Crichton's eye and glancing at the backpack containing the transmitter. There was a barely perceptible nod from Crichton.   
  
He followed her out into the street and through a series of alleyways. She led him into a small building. Inside were four Peacekeepers, who immediately seized him.   
  
"Take him to headquarters. See to it that he isn't mistreated for now."   
  
Turning to Jackson, Sa'di said, "I will see you again, human, if there's anything left of you."   
  
Jackson did his best to look surprised. Their only chance now was Crichton. There had to be a reason Sa'di had separated them, and the longer he could conceal the fact that they had suspected her, the longer Crichton would remain relatively safe.   
  
The last thing he remembered was one of the Peacekeepers moving as if to strike him.  
  
--------------------   
  
He didn't know how long he had been here or where exactly here was. It was some place within the Brinisi detention center but very unlike the cell he had earlier shared with his teammates and Crichton and Aeryn. There was a single diffuse light offering barely enough illumination to see from one end of the small room to the other. The room itself was totally empty and devoid of any features but a waste facility and a continuously flowing water source in one corner. There were no furnishings and the floor was covered with a widely spaced mesh so that sleeping was difficult at best. Meals consisted of a tasteless bread-like mass inserted through a slot near the floor. He was certain that they were feeding him on nothing approaching a regular schedule.   
  
Jackson had gone through the orientation sessions on torture and psychological manipulation. He knew that this was preparation. They were depriving him of external stimuli and trying to disorient him prior to interrogation. He had no way of judging the amount of time that had passed or even the time of day, and he had been allowed no contact with his captors. Even the sound of his own voice was muted by the acoustics of the room and the running water. Knowing what they were doing didn't help much. He could feel the despair beginning to settle.   
  
There had been no physical coercion, but he suspected that wasn't too far off. He paced back an forth, trying to distract himself by reciting passages from the Book of the Dead. "Let their experts have some fun with that," he thought absentmindedly. Without warning, the lights went off and he heard several people enter his cell. They bound his hands and placed a hood over his head. He was pushed into the hallway roughly and guided through what seemed like a maze of corridors. No one said a word.   
  
Finally, he was led into a chamber and seated in a chair. Straps were placed on his arms, legs, waist and chest, firmly securing him in place. The hood was removed, and he heard everyone filed out of the room behind him. There followed absolute silence for at least 5 minutes until a single set of footsteps sounded loudly as they approached the chamber.   
  
Someone entered and closed the door. The figure stepped in front of him and spoke.   
  
"Dr. Jackson. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Scorpius. I expect John has told you a few things about me."   
  
"A few."   
  
Scorpius smiled. "We have some things to discuss regarding your translations. It is a shame that our people have never developed any real tradition of linguistics. It's the microbes you see. The language on these disks has proved especially difficult, so your help has been greatly appreciated. However, we are not fools, and it has become clear that there are some inconsistencies in your work. I suspect Commander Calis was less convincing than she thinks. How long have you suspected her?"   
  
"I don't know what you're talking about. Sa'di led me to you. That's all I know. I'm guessing you have her family."   
  
"Come now, Daniel, there's no point in lying to me."   
  
Scorpius walked over to some sort of instrument panel.   
  
"No matter. We will have many fruitful discussions over the next few days. It's a pity I don't have access to an Aurora Chair here. The Brinisi really are quite primitive in some areas. Nevertheless, we will make due with what is at hand."   
  
He did something on the panel and a screen descended before Daniel. A red dot began moving erratically on the screen. There was no fixed pattern or speed to the movement.   
  
"I require your undivided attention during our conversations. You will track that marker with your eyes at all times. Failure to do so will result in ... correction. Allow me to demonstrate."   
  
Daniel felts a sharp jolt go through his body. It was enough to make him mildly nauseous, but he was able to contain himself and said nothing.   
  
"The charge is random, but the as we continue to talk, the average intensity will increase. It is to your advantage to see that we conclude our discussions early. Once I have what I need, I will release you. I'm sure John has already told you that I released him once we extracted the wormhole information from his brain. You have no reason to distrust me."   
  
"I think I'll reserve judgment on that for now."   
  
Scorpius smiled again. "As you wish. Let's begin. Now remember, you must track that red dot at all times. It's simply a means of assuring that I have your attention."   
  
"Really. You mean it's not a pointless, repetitive task designed to distance you from the source of the pain and make me blame myself instead?"  
  
"Oh, very good, Daniel. But if you know that, you also know that in the long run it doesn't matter that you know. Shall we begin?" With that, he did something else to the panel, and a green square appeared at the center of Jackson's vision. The square and the dot were misaligned, and again Jackson felt something. This time, it was anything but mild. He could barely hear Scorpius say, "Remember to Track the dot, Daniel," over the sound of his own scream.   
  
--------------------   
  
They had been on the run for four days. They hid where they could, no longer staying in any one spot overnight. The intensity of the patrols had increased dramatically and they had nearly been caught a few times. Sa'di was with him almost constantly now, and he had missed the transmission twice already. Crichton still didn't know exactly what to make of her.   
  
After Jackson's loss, she had appeared inconsolable. She blamed herself at every opportunity for his death. Crichton didn't trust her, and for all he knew, Daniel was still alive and in Peacekeeper hands. However, he couldn't be sure of anything. There was still a chance that Sa'di was exactly who she claimed to be and that they had managed to elude the Peacekeepers all these weeks by sheer luck.   
  
They were hiding in a small room behind a market in the commerce district. Sa'di claimed to know the owner.   
  
"I'm afraid they can't offer us much to eat. All I could get is two cups of soup."   
  
She handed one to Crichton and sat next to him, leaning against his shoulder. She had been doing that a lot, making physical contact at every opportunity and appearing to take strength from him when she did so. Crichton hadn't yet made a move to stop this. If her grief was legitimate, then she needed the comfort. If not, he couldn't afford to make her suspicious. They ate in silence.   
  
Afterwards, she leaned in a little so that she was resting entirely on his shoulder with her head against his cheek. For Crichton, it was simply another day stuck with what might be a cold blooded killer and unsure when or even if help would arrive. He thought of Aeryn to distract himself. He rarely thought of anything else, but these days he made an effort not to let Sa'di know that.   
  
--------------------  
  
Aeryn again marveled at her surroundings. It wasn't that they were especially luxurious. She had seen luxury, from the casual and carefree opulence of the Royal Planet, to the more regimented decadence in which high ranking Peacekeepers indulged. This was different. It was comfortable and welcoming in a way she had never experienced. This was a home.   
  
What was truly incongruous was that this was Samantha Carter's home. She was a member of a military organization, granted a very different one from the one Aeryn had once served, but still. It had not occurred to her that Carter had a life outside that military. She should have suspected that things worked differently on Earth. How else would John have become involved with her in the past? Aeryn had simply not possessed the necessary mental framework to make the connection.   
  
She had been here for the past three days. Soon after she was given permission to leave Cheyenne mountain, Carter had offered to let her stay with her. Aeryn had assumed this meant moving to officers quarters in some nearby base somewhere and had accepted as much for the change in routine as for the company. She had been unprepared for the drive into town and Carter's apartment, as she called it. She actually lived freely among civilians and had a decidedly non- military life for part of the day.   
  
The experience had been eye opening for Aeryn. Her days were still spent at the SGC training for the upcoming mission, but the past few nights had been quite different. She learned more in a few days than she had in weekens of study. The day to day details of life on Earth were not recorded in any book or video, and Aeryn found many things surprising.   
  
The purchase and preparation of food had come as something of a surprise. She had become accustomed to it on Moya but never expected it of Carter. Her Peacekeeper upbringing still led her to think of many things as institutional matters, to be dealt with by techs or menial laborers. Of course, John had explained some of this to her, and although she had listened carefully, she saw now that some things had never really registered.   
  
Carter's home was overflowing with books. Most were technical things that Aeryn would not have understood even if she could read them. The rest were eclectic enough that Aeryn felt a stab of jealousy at having been deprived of so much for so long. There was also music, some of which Aeryn recognized from her nightly studies in the SGC, but most of which she had never heard. If Carter's reaction was any indication, Aeryn's taste in human music was rather atypical. Carter had apparently approved of Rachmaninoff and the Beatles, but what was wrong with Barry Manilow anyway? Yesterday, Aeryn had remembered something that John sometimes talked about. Carter purchased a few CDs after she mentioned it, and she was now listening to Charlie Parker. She found it very confusing, and decided she would have to talk to John about it. That brought her back to more important matters.   
  
Everything was finally ready. Tomorrow was the day.   
  
"How are the final preparations going?" she asked Carter.   
  
"Everything's in place. The Tok'ra have everything assembled. It's lucky we got as much out of them as we have."   
  
"Any last minute modifications?"   
  
"No. The reconnaissance team goes in one day in advance, evaluates the situation and finds Daniel and John. We go in the following day. The assault teams hit the two targets, and we improvise as necessary."   
  
Aeryn found herself unusually nervous. She had been on countless missions as dangerous as this, but the stakes had never been higher for her. Unlike the other times she had risked herself for John, the extended separation and uncertainty about his fate added to her nerves.   
  
"Do you think they're alright?"   
  
Aeryn felt almost childish for asking, but she found that she needed some reassurance.   
  
"They both know what they're doing, Aeryn, and they're both smart. I bet they caught on to the disruptor right away."   
  
Aeryn bristled at the mention of Sa'di or whatever her name was. Thoughts of a certain other disruptor followed unbidden, but that was then. She trusted John completely, and her only worry was about the threat she posed. She swore that if that trelk hurt him, she would cut her heart out. She would probably do that anyway.   
  
Carter seemed to sense the shift in her mood and interrupted her train of though.   
  
"So, once we get them back, what are you plans?"   
  
"Plans?"   
  
"You and John must have talked about what you were going to do once you got back to Earth."   
  
"No. Not really. There wasn't a lot of time on Brinisa. We have talked about it now and then over the cycles, but it didn't really mean anything. There didn't seem to be any way for John to get back until the Stargate. I suppose he'll have to start a new life of some sort, now that he is cut off from his past."   
  
"He? You mean the two of you, right?"   
  
"Of course." Did that sound as pitiful to Carter as it did to her? From the look she gave her, apparently it did.   
  
"Aeryn, I don't know what you think is going to happen once the two of you are on Earth, but like I've said, I know John. I may not know who he's become in the past four years, but that's not the John you're worried about, is it? You think that once he settles back into some kind of life on Earth, things might be different. Well, the John I know *is* the one who had a life on Earth, and I can tell you that I have never before seen him the way he is with you. He loves you Aeryn, and that's not something that comes easily to him. I think he's only really been in love once before, and I never once saw him look at her the way he looks at you."   
  
Aeryn smiled inwardly. She knew all this on some level, but there were always nagging insecurities, and Carters words helped more than she could have anticipated.   
  
--------------------   
  
Now his only measure of time was the number of sessions he had endured with Scorpius. There had been eight so far. There was no fixed schedule and he couldn't tell if any two sessions were half an hour or half a week apart. He never remembered the end of any of them. Each apparently ended like the last, with him screaming himself into exhaustion and eventually passing out only to find himself back in his cell.   
  
Each time was harder than the last. Concentrating on the display was becoming more than he could bear and the physical punishment associated with failure was becoming more intensive as promised. The points where the straps made contact with his flesh were now little more than open wounds, and he wasn't certain how much internal damage the shocks were doing. He just knew that it hurt to move and that anything more than shallow breaths caused a sharp, stabbing pain.   
  
He couldn't hold out much longer; he knew that. Scorpius was always so insistent and so unnaturally calm. It was becoming harder not to give in to the confident, neutral voice and the promises of release. Already he had started to let things slip. He had long since revealed that the translations were intentionally botched and had started to supply corrections. He may have said something about suspecting Sa'di, but he wasn't sure. So far, he had said nothing about the transmitter. He had to keep that hidden as long as possible. He tried not to think of it at all and instead focused on other secrets, so that those would be the first to surface in the next round of questions.  
  



	5. .

It was working. She was sure of it. John Crichton was coming around, and soon she would have him. He allowed her to get close in a way that he hadn't since he had first rejected her, and he barely mentioned Aeryn Sun now.  
  
She brought up the weapon design as often as she dared while still maintaining a casual air about it. He had clarified a few things that had been omitted from Jackson's translation, but there were still numerous points that needed to be addressed. Soon she wouldn't have to worry about arousing suspicion. She was confident that would all evaporate once they became intimate. He was a male after all, and in her experience, that had always been the case.  
  
She was leaning against him again. He sat against a bare wall in their current hideout, exhausted from the day of hiding and running. She decided to take a chance. Moving a little closer, she slowly started to rub her forehead along his cheek while gently stroking his arm. Instead of relaxing into her as she had expected, he stiffened for a microt and then essentially went limp, not pulling away, but not encouraging her either.  
  
What the frell was that? She didn't know what to make of the reaction. Had she misread him? Had he actually been trying to manipulate her these past days? Or was he simply tired? She would back off for now, but if this continued, there would be no point in carrying on with this deception.  
  
--------------------  
  
This was becoming ridiculous. They had been alone and on the run for days now, yet he still refused to react in any way to her fairly blatant advances. He had revealed a few things about Jackson's translations, but now she wasn't sure if these were distortions as well or if he had been doling out carefully planned bits of information. She still didn't know whether it would be possible to form enough of a bond with him for it to be worth all this effort. Now was the time to find out.  
  
Subtlety hadn't worked. Perhaps something more overt was in order. It clearly wasn't a matter of attraction. He had to have been attracted to her. She knew how men had always reacted to her. If he suspected her loyalties too strongly, then it was time to end the charade. However, it might simply be that he was deluding himself in his sense of obligation to Sun. If she pressed the issue rather than leaving him to make a decision, he might give in.  
  
They had just settled into the basement of another non-descript building belonging to one of her "friends". Calis watched as Crichton look around appraisingly.  
  
"Well, it's not much, but at least it's better than that last ..."  
  
She didn't give him a chance to finish. Dropping any pretence of weakness, she pushed him roughly against the near wall, pressed herself into him and began to kiss him deeply. For a microt, she was certain he would respond. He started to kiss back and placed his hands on her shoulders. Then to her utter disbelief, he pushed her away.  
  
"Sa'di, we shouldn't. This is a really bad idea."   
  
"Why the frell not? It's not as if we have any hope of coming out of this alive. We might as well take what little pleasure we can. I'm attracted to you, and a microt ago you seemed interested too. So what's wrong."  
  
For several microts, she saw indecision on his face. This settled into a look of resolve mixed with resignation. He stepped away from her.  
  
"Look, it's not like that for me. I haven't given up hope yet, and even if I had, it wouldn't change anything. I love Aeryn. It doesn't matter if she's here or not or if I ever see her again. I won't betray her ..."  
  
He cut the sentence short, almost as if it should have ended in another word. He continued.  
  
"I know we've both been under a lot of stress, Sa'di, and I'm sorry if I did anything to mislead you in any way ..."  
  
The idiot was still talking, but she was no longer listening.   
  
"Oh, frell this!"  
  
She grabbed his shoulder, twisting it around, and struck him in the solar plexus. As he began to double over, she struck again at the back of his neck. He fell unconscious at her feet.  
  
"I suppose we have to do this the hard way now."   
  
--------------------   
  
Daniel Jackson no longer knew what he was saying. He might have been babbling incoherently or he might have been revealing everything he had ever learned while working at the SGC. All he knew for certain was that Scorpius was with him and that he was screaming.  
  
--------------------   
  
It was completely irrational, but Aeryn had come to despise this. It didn't seem to bother the humans, so she said nothing about it, but it never felt right. She was born and raised in space and had traveled between the stars her whole life, but not like this. This was simply unnatural.  
  
She had been through the gate only a few times, mainly to acclimate her to the feeling. Carter had nearly had to shove her through once or twice. This time, it was for real. The surveillance team had already been on Brinisa for 20 hours now, and the mission would begin within the day.  
  
She was dressed in a familiar uniform, although it felt quite different and was made of different material. The humans had reproduced them to her specification, and every member of the small strike force looked like an officer in the Pleisars. She was dressed as a Lieutenant and would do the early talking if any talking was necessary.  
  
Braca was with them, bound, under guard, and looking thoroughly miserable. He would accompany them to Brinisa and remain on a Tok'ra transport until the end of the mission and would then be dropped off at the edge of the city. Aeryn was a little surprised that the humans had decided to honor their agreement with him. Like Braca, she hadn't really expected it.  
  
With the exception of Aeryn, who carried her pulse rifle and pistol, the other members of the team were armed with a combination of human projectile weapons and Goa'uld devices. In the past few weekens, Aeryn had become thoroughly familiar with all of them. Most team members carried FN P-90's as their primary weapon. These vaguely resembled pulse rifles, and the similarity would work to their advantage. Teal'c carried his staff weapon. Sidearms consisted of a combination of human handguns and Goa'uld Zats. Each of the two strike forces was equipped with a Barrett M82 sniper rifle. Aeryn had seen this weapon in action and was certain it would penetrate the relatively light armor of most Peacekeeper vessels.  
  
She looked around at the faces of the humans. Once again, the contrast struck her. She had come to know these people over the past few weekens, especially the members of SG1. They could be frivolous and distracted at times, much like John, but now she saw only determination and deadly seriousness. She had no question about their competence. Having trained with them, she knew these people were very good indeed.  
  
The most recent report indicated that John and Jackson had transmitted their location that day. The humans on the ground had tracked them to a building on the outskirts of the city. As of their last contact, it seemed that the humans and their Peacekeeper companion hadn't left the building.  
  
O'Neill nodded to Carter who touched one of their two Asgard dialing devices. The second was carried by Major Ealing, who would lead the attack on the Brinisi gate.  
  
The Stargate came to life, and O'Neill simply said, "Let's get moving."   
  
Aeryn hesitated a little again, closed her eyes and stepped through. From this point out, failure was not an option. Soon she would be reunited with John or she would die in the attempt.  
  
--------------------   
  
Crichton felt a throbbing pain behind his eyes. He started to open them, but was having trouble focusing. A distant sounding voice began to come through clearer and was just starting to make sense.  
  
"Welcome back," it said in a pleasant tone.   
  
He looked up and saw Sa'di seated on a crate opposite him. It was Sa'di, but not Sa'di. She had altered her manner of dress when they first went on the run, and that had been a noticeable change, but it was nothing like this. Now she was a completely different person. Her bearing, her movements, everything spoke of competence, strength and self-possession.  
  
Crichton tried to move. It was only then that he realized he was seated on a sturdy chair. His legs were bound to its, his arms were tied behind him and secured to the chair, his fingers were interlaced, and a loop secured his thumbs together and back. There was also a tight binding crisscrossing his chest. He wasn't going anywhere.  
  
"I considered leaving you free to see how much fight you had in you, but this is better. There's no point in having you hurt yourself unnecessarily."  
  
"Sa'di, what are you doing? Get me out of this thing."   
  
"Drop the act, Crichton. I think you've known for some time that I'm not who I seem, and if you didn't before, you do now. Allow me to introduce myself properly."  
  
She stood up, at attention if Crichton was any judge.   
  
"Commander Serina Calis, 12th Disruptor Directorate."   
  
"You're a Peacekeeper? And a disruptor...."   
  
"Yes. I understand you have some ... experience with one of us. She certainly had a few things to say about you. Pity I didn't get a chance to confirm her observations myself."  
  
Crichton tried to ignore the implications of that. "What do you want with me?"  
  
"What do you think? Information. I want to know everything you and Jackson found out about the relativistic weapon. This is just a matter of convenience, you understand. Scorpius has already extracted enough information from Jackson to establish a translation base for the disks. Our scientists will work out the rest with or without your help, but since you have some experience with wormholes and went through the translation with Jackson in detail, your perspective might prove valuable in saving a little time."  
  
"Daniel is alive?"   
  
"Yes, although I imagine he wishes otherwise right now."   
  
She smiled, but it was a parody of a real smile. It never reached her eyes. She stood and began to pace lightly. John glanced at the backpack on the far side of the room when her back was turned. It didn't look as though it had been disturbed, but she had probably searched it. With any luck, she didn't recognize the components that made up the transmitter when they were disassembled. He had managed a transmission earlier that day, but that obviously wouldn't be happening any more.  
  
"Understand this, John. You are no longer necessary. However, your cooperation might make things a little easier for you."  
  
"You mean easier for you. Not exactly at the top of my list of priorities right now."  
  
She smiled again. "I was hoping you would say something like that."   
  
Sa'di or Serina, or whatever her name was, moved without warning and struck him hard in the ribs. He started to cough uncontrollably.  
  
Once he had gained a little composure, he choked out, "That wasn't very nice. Shouldn't you be taking me to Scorpy about now? I don't think he would appreciate damaged good."  
  
"As I said, John. You are no longer necessary, and my rank affords me a little latitude. Besides, I am curious about you. You are a very strange creature."  
  
"I've heard that before."   
  
"So answer me this. Why did you really reject my advances? I don't believe all that nonsense about Sun. Is it because you suspected my identity?"  
  
"No. Well, yeah, but mainly it was the nonsense."   
  
She seemed to consider that for a few moments.   
  
"How very odd. You're not lying, are you? I can't imagine how such a twisted situation could have developed. You I can understand. You're a primitive. Sun is another matter. Perhaps they missed something during the genetic screenings."  
  
"Yeah. They missed the fact that she has a soul. It's very un-Peacekeeper. Take you for example."  
  
Calis chuckled at that. "As I said, you are intriguing. I regret not having had the opportunity to have sex with you. Chatto's reports were quite explicit about your encounter."  
  
He ignored the reference to his indiscretion of three cycles earlier. "Wouldn't that contaminate you?"  
  
"Don't be foolish. I am a disruptor."   
  
Obviously in her mind, that was explanation enough.   
  
"Well, no point worrying about missed opportunities. Let's start, shall we? You will begin by explaining the stabilization mechanism in detail. How do you filter out the high frequency lateral instabilities while maintaining a completely uniform field strength?"  
  
"I don't know. Maybe you pad the gate with food cubes."   
  
She backhanded him hard enough to draw blood, but there was no anger. Her expression never changed.   
  
"You used to pull the wings of insects when you were a kid, didn't you?"   
  
--------------------  
  
Some of the details were different, but the feeling was the same. This mixture of anticipation and eerie calm was something she had known countless times in her former life. Aeryn was on a transport vessel, albeit like nothing she had ever seen before, on her way to engage the enemy, who this time were her own people. She was in the company of fellow soldiers, but they were aliens she would have dismissed as primitives just a handful of cycles ago. None of that seemed significant now. The one difference that did matter to her was the objective. As a Peacekeeper, combat had always been a matter of following orders, of playing her small part for the greater good as she perceived it then. It was probably how many of her present comrades felt in their own, decidedly non-Peacekeeper way. For her, there were no abstractions or greater goals. This was entirely personal. She was here to get John back.  
  
Aeryn forced herself to focus on the present and on the broad outline of the plan. The humans on this vessel would attack the Brinisi base directly. Those on the other ship would attack the gate. O'Neill and Carter would collect whatever they could from the base before it went up. She and Teal'c would recover John and Jackson. They had received a final report from the reconnaissance team microts earlier confirming that no one had moved from the location of Jackson's last transmission. The details had been worked out carefully, but everyone involved knew that nothing like this ever went exactly according to plan. Even if they performed flawlessly, luck, perhaps good but most likely bad, would factor into things in unexpected ways.  
  
O'Neill interrupted her thoughts.   
  
"Listen up, everyone. We reach Brinisa in under an hour. Last chance to review the basics."   
  
"Sorenson's people should already have explosives set up throughout the Eastern quarter of the city. We know that's where off duty Peacekeepers have been spending most of their time and where most of them are quartered.  
  
"Ealing's team will intercept the morning replacement for the guard detail at the gate. They know the route they're going to take and where to hit them quickly and quietly. The explosives go off at about local dawn, hopefully with a minimum of collateral damage. Ealing should be arriving at the gate just about then. His people take out the guards before anyone notices, take the gate room, set it up to burn to the ground and get out through the gate.  
  
"With any luck, the explosions and whatever other trouble the recon people can cause will divert some of the troops at the base towards the gate and city proper. We blend into the general confusion, and head into the base without attracting attention. Carter and I head to the research labs Braca told us about. The rest of you place our little presents throughout the building as planned. We get in and out in under 10 minutes and without anyone noticing.  
  
"Smith draws attention away from our exit with the Barrett. We scatter and reassemble at the rendezvous point 40 minutes from the start of the mission. Don't be late. We won't be waiting for stragglers.  
  
"While the rest of us are busy with all that, Aeryn and Teal'c snatch Daniel and Crichton from Mata Hari. As far as we know, she's still playing her part, so that should go pretty smoothly."  
  
--------------------   
  
Calis absently rubbed her knuckles. They were beginning to bruise. The human had proved remarkably resilient. She had read Scorpius' reports of his experience with the Aurora chair. Scorpius had attributed his greater resistance compared to most Sebaceans to the differences in brain chemistry and neural pathways. Calis suspected now that there was a bit more to it. There was certainly more to Crichton than the past few weekens with him had indicated.  
  
He was asleep now, or perhaps unconscious, but it was nothing she couldn't rouse him from. It had given both him and her a small respite and a little time to rest. She didn't want her own fatigue to show in any way, and she didn't want to kill him accidentally. He hadn't really revealed anything of use about the weapon. A few items had slipped out here and there, but that was hardly the point. Jackson had already given them enough of a starting point to make both humans redundant.  
  
Calis realized that this had started to become personal. She knew objectively that her behavior was fast approaching the unprofessional, but she allowed herself the indulgence this time. She would break this alien before she killed him. It was curiosity, she told herself, nothing more.  
  
She took a good look at him, almost as if for the first time since her interrogation had started. She hadn't been subtle. Peacekeepers often employed chemicals and advanced technology in these matters, but just as often, they relied on more traditional methods. His face and upper body sported multiple bruises and cuts, some deep. His eyes were almost swollen shut. There were puncture wounds on his thighs and upper arms. The last of these was accompanied by burn marks, both to cauterize and to persuade. His breathing was labored, probably because of the two or three ribs she had cracked. His right leg hung in an unnatural fashion. That had been a mistake. He had lost consciousness when she broke it, and it took considerable effort to bring him around again. His shoulders were at an odd angle from where she had dislocated them. Grinding bone against bone at the shoulder blades had proved an interesting method of getting his attention. His hands looked a little strange too because of the broken thumbs.  
  
He had been out for a few hundred microts. That was long enough. She walked behind him, grabbed his shoulders and twisted. The resulting scream was evidence enough that he was awake.  
  
She walked around to face him.   
  
"Did you have a refreshing nap, John?"   
  
His voice was hoarse from excessive use.   
  
"Yeah. Had a nice dream. You were in it. You, a deep pit and some rattlesnakes."  
  
She smiled coldly at his irrelevancy. "I believe we were talking about field strengths and accelerations."  
  
He gasped out an answer. "I told you what I know. There's nothing else to say about it. You have to know that by now."  
  
"I will decide when I know what I need to know from you, John."  
  
His head shot up, and he smiled unexpectedly. The effect on that battered face was disturbing, and Calis cursed herself for reacting even a fraction.  
  
"This has nothing to do with the weapon does it? It's because I didn't frell you."  
  
"Don't be an idiot." That had come out louder and faster than she had intended. She quickly regained her composure before continuing. "As I told you, I'm not expecting any great revelations from you, but anything I get is better than nothing. I also want to see what you are made of. Not very much, it would seem. No Peacekeeper would have broken as easily as you have."  
  
"Oh, I don't think I'm broken just yet, do you? And I've met all kinds of Peacekeepers."  
  
Calis ignored this. "Of course, if you had been sensible, none of this would have been necessary. I guarantee you would have enjoyed yourself. Instead, here you sit, bleeding and in pain. You see what your blind allegiance to that traitorous trelk has earned you?"  
  
"So let me see if I've got this straight. My choices were torture or sex with you .... I think I made the right decision."  
  
She drove her fist into his torso with all her considerable strength. He blacked out again.  
  
"Frell ...." She had let the human get to her. This was becoming counterproductive, and Crichton no longer served any real purpose. It would be best to eliminate him now, but she decided not to make that move in too much haste. It was almost morning, and she had been cooped up in this basement for nearly three days. She needed to get some air. His execution could wait for that.  
  
--------------------   
  
Ramirez had been watching the building for over 50 hours. There had been one transmission and nothing after that. No one had left or entered in all that time. Until now. The woman emerged alone. There was something about her appearance that disturbed him. The assault teams was scheduled to begin their strikes in just under 30 minutes. His orders were to stay out of the way until Teal'c and Sun arrived, but his instincts told him that something was seriously wrong and that delaying would be a mistake. Despite the risk to himself, the captives and the mission, he decided to take a chance.  
  
He waited until she was out of sight, hid the receiver, and headed for the building. The doors were unlocked. He made his way inside, and a quick inspection led him to the basement entrance. He went in carefully, armed, like the rest of his team, with only a knife of local manufacture. The risk of discovery by passing Peacekeeper patrols was too great to allow anything else.  
  
He saw Crichton, whom he recognized from the briefings. He was clearly in very bad shape and seemed to be unconscious. Jackson was nowhere in sight. He tried to wake Crichton while carefully cutting through his bonds. Crichton started to come out of it.  
  
"Hey, you awake? Come on. Get up. We have to get out of here. You just need to hold on a little longer. They'll be coming any time now."  
  
For a moment he saw a look of hope and the shadow of a smile began to form, but then Crichton's eyes focused on something to the right and went wide. Ramirez spun around knife in hand, and lunged towards the direction Crichton was looking. He was too slow. Calis was standing at the entrance with a weapon pointed at his chest. He had only a moment to register the absolute calm on her face as she fired, and then everything went black.  
  
--------------------  
  
Teal'c was dressed in local clothing and carried his weapon like an ordinary staff. He and Aeryn had made their way through the city within sight of each other but far enough apart not to appear to be together. Things had gone smoothly for the most part. The only incident had been when one of the routine patrols had stopped Teal'c. Aeryn had managed to overtake him from behind before they could ask him anything. The patrol consisted of young Officers barely out training, and it had taken little effort for "Lt. Sun" to berate them on their lack of discipline and anything else she could think of. They were more than happy to be elsewhere by the time Aeryn was done.  
  
They arrived at the location Sorenson had transmitted, only to find that their contact was missing. Aeryn couldn't help feeling that things had already started to go wrong.  
  
"Where the frell is he? Could he have panicked at the sight of a patrol?"  
  
"Sgt. Ramirez is a capable warrior. He would not have abandoned this position without good reason."  
  
"So something went wrong. I say we head into the building now."  
  
"That would be unwise, Aeryn Sun. I too wish to rescue our companions, but we cannot jeopardize the mission by revealing our presence too soon." He glanced at his watch. "The explosives will detonate in 12 minutes. We must wait until then."  
  
--------------------  
  
"Who the frell was this, and what did he mean by 'They'll be coming any time'?"  
  
Crichton said nothing. He had said nothing for nearly a third of an arn as Calis carefully examined the body of the man she had just killed. He seemed ordinary enough, dressed in the clothing of a Brinisi tradesman. The only unusual thing about him was the knife he carried. Brinisi did not normally carry weapons. Calis thought he might be a member of the small resistance group that had sprung up, but how could he have known about her or Crichton?  
  
"I know you haven't been in contact with any Brinisi, so how did he know you were here, and why would he care?"  
  
Calis had a flash of intuition. The idea was preposterous, but she hadn't advanced as far as she had by ignoring possibilities, however remote.  
  
She had read the medical reports on Crichton, and there was an easy way to tell. She drew her knife and made a an incision along the abdomen. It was messy, but squeamishness was not something most Peacekeepers had in them. This was wrong. There was an unusual structure where the paraphoram should be. Brinisi were almost identical to Sebaceans internally, and this thing wasn't a Brinisi.  
  
She jumped to her feet, pulled out a communicator and contacted Scorpius directly.  
  
"Sir, we have a situation..."   
  
Before she could say anything further, she, and probably everyone else in the city, heard a series of loud explosions to the East.  
  
--------------------   
  
It would be dawn in nearly a quarter arn, and the platoon currently guarding the entrance to the portal chamber was awaiting relief that would never come.  
  
Seven men in Peacekeeper uniforms approached the guard detail from the far side of the small valley. To the soldiers who had been standing in the cold for arns, this was a welcome sight. At a distance, the P-90s the newcomers carried looked like pulse rifles, and their approach was timed so that getting a good look at those weapons would be the last thing on anyone's mind by the time they were close enough for it to matter.  
  
A series of loud explosions sounded from somewhere in the city, in the direction opposite the approach of their comrades. The Peacekeepers were instantly on alert, weapons at the ready, but with their attention focused in the wrong direction. They were totally unprepared as the special ops team calmly joined them and proceeded to shoot with cold efficiency.  
  
The humans rapidly filed into the building housing the gate. This time, luck was not on their side and one of the techs working in the control room sounded an alarm. The handful of soldiers in the facility responded haphazardly, and there was a short exchange of fire. In under two minutes, all the Peacekeepers, soldiers and techs were dead. One of their own was also down.  
  
They quickly set incendiary devices throughout the gate room, in the control chamber and on every major piece of Brinisi hardware. They then sprayed the room with a chemical accelerant. The equipment in direct contact with the thermite charges would reach a temperature of 3000 Kelvin and stay nearly that hot for close to a minute. Tests on the material recovered by SG1 revealed that this would be enough to turn anything but the gate itself to slag. The rest of the facility would burn for at least 30 minutes at nearly 1800 Kelvin. There would be nothing left to recover.  
  
Conventional explosives would seal the entrances so that the Peacekeepers would be unable to do anything about the fire, even if they could react in time and with the right counteragents, an unlikely but not impossible prospect.  
  
The team worked fast. The alarm would bring reinforcement any minute, but they were prepared for that as well. As soon as the guards outside had been eliminated, two of the team, in hiding until then, had taken up position at the entrance to the facility with the .50 caliber sniper rifle. As the two marauders with commando reinforcement approached, they fired into the propulsor units, where Officer Sun had indicated the vessels were most vulnerable. The marauders were as ill equipped for this sort of primitive firepower as the Peacekeeper soldiers had been. Both ships exploded in mid- air.  
  
When all was ready, Major Ealing activated the 15 second delay on the explosives and touched the Asgard dialing device. The Stargate came to life, and humans filed through moments before everything went up in flames. From the sound of the explosions to their exit via the gate, the operation had lasted just over 7 minutes.  
  
--------------------   
  
"Yes sir, I hear them as well."   
  
[It must be what remains of the Brinisi forces in the city. It seems they are better organized than we suspected.]  
  
"I don't think so, sir. Someone tried to rescue Crichton. A cursory examination seems to indicate that he is human."  
  
[Human .... could he be one of the human gate travelers, perhaps separated from the others and left behind.]  
  
"No, sir. I was present when the humans arrived through the gate. There were four of them, and this wasn't one of them. I can only conclude that they have some other means of traveling from their planet to Brinisa."  
  
There was a slight pause.   
  
[This could prove very valuable, Commander. Is the human in any condition to be questioned?]  
  
"No, sir. I was forced to kill him. However, he said something to Crichton about others coming. I suspect there are more of them in the city, and they may attempt to rescue Crichton. I request that you send reinforcements right away. An attack on the base is also a possibility. Those explosions may have been a diversion."  
  
[Thank you for your assessment, Commander. You seem to have an uncanny grasp of the obvious. I have already ordered forces to your location and have placed the base on alert. However, the initial reaction to all this excitement has left us in a temporary state of confusion. It seems most of our troops have already been dispatched to the Eastern quarter of the city. We are attempting to correct that situation. I suggest you do what you can to defend your position until reinforcements arrive.]  
  
"Yes, sir." She disengaged her comms.   
  
"Frelling, self-righteous half-breed," she muttered under her breath.   
  
"Kind of makes you wonder, doesn't it?" Crichton was lucid again, but he could barely speak above a whisper.  
  
"What the frell do you want?"   
  
"Oh, nothing. Just thinking out loud. You guys are always talking about this racial superiority crap, but when it comes down to it, it's just another meaningless slogan. I mean look at you, cream of the PK crop, yet you're taking orders from old Scorpy."  
  
She struck him across the face, and his head snapped to the side and then drooped forward, motionless. He'd done it again, managed to unbalance her. She had to stay calm. The situation required a level head.  
  
"I don't have time for this dren. I was planning to kill you, but you have a temporary reprieve, Crichton."  
  
He had just been promoted from condemned prisoner to bait. Calis went around to the back of the building to wait for the rescue attempt she was sure was coming.  
  
--------------------   
  
"There are the explosions, let's move."   
  
"I advise extreme caution, Aeryn Sun. Sgt. Ramirez's disappearance indicates that we may encounter difficulty. We should approach from opposite ends of the building."  
  
"Fine, you go around the back."   
  
She was already on the move before Teal'c could say anything further.   
  
He circled around the building and found a rear entrance. He stepped through cautiously, looking for any possible points of concealment. Too late, he saw a narrow passageway that hadn't been immediately visible from near the entrance. Just as his attention was drawn to it, a figure stepped out, weapon at the ready, and fired at his chest.  
  
The last think he remembered was sinking to his knees as the staff weapon slipped out of his hand.   
  
--------------------   
  
Aeryn tried to maintain some cover as she advanced towards the building. Now that she was this close, she had to maintain control. A careless move at this point might cost John his life. She saw no one as she approached the building's front entrance. She stepped through, pulse rifle raised, and noticed footsteps tracked in the dust. There were several different ones, but one set had become familiar over the past few weekens. They had been made by military issue boots of the sort the humans wore. She followed them to a basement doorway.  
  
Aeryn descended the stairs slowly, trying to see as far as she could in the dim light. A few hentas from the bottom of the staircase, she saw a body and froze. Forcing herself forward, she got a clearer look and started breathing again when she noticed that the hair was too dark to be John's. It wasn't Jackson either, which meant that the fate of Sgt. Ramirez was no longer a mystery.  
  
She stepped carefully around Ramirez's body and scanned the room. The only illumination was a dim light, under which sat a man on a wooden chair. It took her a moment to recognize the broken and battered figure as John Crichton. She couldn't tell if he was dead or alive. Suppressing the overwhelming urge to run up to him, she advanced slowly.  
  
A pulse rifle blast missed her by a hair and she dove for cover behind some crates, returning fire in the direction the shot had originated.  
  
From somewhere in the darkened corner of the basement opposite her position, she heard, "Officer Sun, this is a surprise. I never expected you to risk yourself by coming after him in person."  
  
"So let's see how much this primitive really means to you. I have him clearly in sight. Unless you step forward and drop your weapon, he dies. And don't expect any help from the other human. I have already dealt with him."  
  
"Why the frell should I do anything you say? You'll kill us both anyway."  
  
"Don't be so melodramatic, Sun. I have no desire to harm either of you. The human has already revealed everything he knows. He is of no use to me. You may be a fugitive, but so is the Captain who declared you contaminated. You are no longer anyone's priority. Step forward, drop your rifle, and I will release him into your care. You have until the count of ten."  
  
"You're lying!"  
  
"What you choose to believe is your problem, but I will fire on ten. One .... two ...."  
  
Aeryn had only a moment to think. Teal'c was down, possibly dead. She couldn't see Calis. Any attempt to open fire would mean John's death.  
  
"Six .... seven ...."  
  
She was out of options, and only one choice remained. She held her pulse rifle over her head, stood up and walked slowly towards John. The counting stopped.  
  
--------------------  
  
Security was lax, as promised. There were guards posted at the base perimeter, but the Peacekeepers obviously expected nothing of substance from the locals. The explosions went off on schedule, and the early morning quiet was disrupted by a mass of bodies, most heading towards the Eastern quarter of the city.  
  
The twelve men comprising the assault team were scattered outside the base, doing their best not to draw attention. As the alarms sounded, and troops began streaming out, the humans quietly inserted themselves into the confused rush. The overall movement of troops was out and away from the base, but there was enough traffic in all directions to allow them to move in unobserved. They closed on the main building from different directions, and entered in staggered groups of two and three. Each small group headed to its pre-assigned starting point at the extreme corners of the building.  
  
They expected little or no resistance going in and met none, but once they started working, there was the possibility of individual Peacekeepers stumbling across them. Each team worked back towards the entrance placing small metallic devices in preplanned locations. One or two men attached the devices to the walls while the remaining man covered them. Most of the teams had progressed more than half way back towards the entrance when things started to go wrong.  
  
They were to maintain radio silence except in extreme emergency, but Lt. Smith 's voice suddenly sounded. From his concealed position on a small hill overlooking the compound, he could see a sudden shift in Peacekeeper troop movement back towards the base. The men in the building continued to work methodically, but they now realized that a smooth exit would be unlikely.  
  
By the time most of them were down to two or three remaining devices, they started to hear the enemy approaching along the hallways. Instead of the light, disorganized opposition they had hoped for, the twelve men, all near the entrance of the building, but still scattered, faced scores of Peacekeepers who were ready for them. The last of the devices were abandoned, and several furious but short firefights broke out as each small team encountered opposition. Within ten minutes of entering the building, all twelve were dead.  
  
--------------------  
  
O'Neill and Carter had entered with the others, but they headed directly for the central laboratory. They passed several Peacekeeper and Brinisi techs, none of whom bothered with the two 'Officers', and made their way to the secure facility housing the disks, the weapon schematics and Daniel's translations. Braca had told them that all the material from the gate site was being stored here, and that the translations were being analyzed on the base. In a genuine stroke of luck, the information was not being relayed to the ships in orbit for fear of compromising security.  
  
O'Neill punched in the pass code Braca had supplied, hoping that no one had thought to change it. To their relief, the door opened. Explosives would not be necessary.  
  
They walked in to find Daniel Jackson standing in the center of the room with a female Peacekeeper holding a weapon to his head. Off to the side was a creature who had to be Scorpius.  
  
"Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter, if I am not mistaken. Daniel has told me a great deal about the two of you. I suggest you surrender your weapons. This facility will be surrounded by my troops very shortly, and I know enough of you to know that you have not come this far to risk Daniel's life."  
  
O'Neill bluffed. "We're here for the disks, not Daniel. Besides, there are two of us, and you're not armed. It looks to me like we have the advantage here."  
  
"My aide is expendable, and you are no threat to me. I am part Scarren, as you may know, and your primitive weapons will have no effect."  
  
O'Neill had casually leveled his weapon at Scorpius' shoulder while listening to Carter's running translation. "You know, we get a lot of that."  
  
He fired without warning. Scorpius was thrown back violently. There was a spurt of dark blood followed by an utterly inhuman bellow.  
  
The Peacekeeper had clearly not expected this turn of events. She seemed to hesitate for an instant and started to bring her pistol around to fire at O'Neill. At that moment, Jackson went limp and dropped far enough to give Carter a clean shot at her head. She took it.  
  
"Carter, gather everything you can. Daniel, you o.k.?"  
  
He was slumped against the body of the dead Peacekeeper. "Uh .... no. I haven't exactly been on vacation here. Glad you guys finally showed up."  
  
"Don't worry. We'll have you back on your feet in no time."  
  
"Crichton. He's still with the woman. She's some kind of spy, by the way."  
  
"We know. Teal'c and Aeryn are getting him."  
  
Carter interrupted them, "Sir, I think we've got everything. I'll set the explosives." She turned to Jackson. "How are you doing, Daniel?"  
  
"Oh, about as well as when Jack asked me a couple of seconds ago."  
  
"We'll have you out of here in no time. Sir, what do we do with him?" She pointed at Scorpius who was leaning against the far wall and bleeding freely.  
  
"It looks like the mission's been compromised. We take him with us. We're probably going to need the insurance."  
  
He walked over to Scorpius.  
  
"Hey, you. Get on your feet. You're coming with us."  
  
The voice that responded sounded nothing like the one that had initially greeted them. It was deep and guttural.  
  
"How!?"  
  
O'Neill glanced at Carter, and she supplied the explanation.  
  
"Oh, you know. Primitive weapons. They never seem to behave. Now I said it once already, and I won't repeat it a third time. On your feet. Or would you like to see what happens when I fire this thing at your head?"  
  
Scorpius staggered to his feet.   
  
"Carter, you get Daniel. I'll escort our friend here."  
  
--------------------   
  
"Drop the rifle and kick it towards my voice."  
  
She complied.  
  
"Now your pistol."  
  
Aeryn unholstered her pistol and kicked it in the direction of the rifle, all the while keeping an eye on John. To her immense relief, he was breathing, although with obvious difficulty. His head snapped up unexpectedly, and he tried to focus in her direction.  
  
His voice was a hoarse whisper, "Aeryn? You ... get out ... she's here ..."  
  
She tried to keep her voice steady, "It's alright, John. Don't try to talk."  
  
An armed figure slowly stepped out of the darkness and walked toward her. Aeryn recognized the woman she had known as Sa'di, but this was obviously no longer a meek scientist.  
  
"I didn't think you would do it. You're really willing to throw your life away for this alien piece of dren. I've read your record, Sun. You showed promise. You might even have secured your own command in time. I can't believe you gave up everything for him."  
  
Aeryn refused to react. She knew it would do no good.   
  
"I'll admit, he's not a bad frell, and very eager .... but still ...."  
  
That required no thought. She knew instantly that Calis was lying. Aeryn realized that her disbelief must have registered on her face, because a moment later, she saw a brief flash of embarrassment from the other woman. This was covered as quickly as it appeared.  
  
"You said you would let us go."  
  
"I lied, you frelling traitor. You are a disgrace to everything we Peacekeepers stand for. You betrayed your oath for an alien."  
  
"I betrayed my oath because my oath meant nothing, and we Peacekeepers," she spat out the word with every ounce of contempt in her, "stand for nothing."  
  
That got a reaction. Calis was enraged.  
  
"Maybe a few rounds in the Aurora chair will reveal how the genetic screenings allowed something like you to live. But first, you get to watch him die."  
  
She started to point her rifle at John's head. Aeryn prepared to throw herself at Calis. It would almost certainly be suicide, but she had no choice. Just as she was about to lunge forward, she heard a sound that had become familiar over the past few weekens and saw blue arcs encircle Calis' body. The disruptor fell heavily to the ground. Aeryn instinctively picked up her rifle and slung it across her shoulder.  
  
When she looked up, she saw Teal'c leaning against the rear entrance to the basement as the Zat slid out of his hand onto the ground. There was a prominent burn mark on his torso.  
  
"Are you alright?" she called across the room.  
  
"I will live," Teal'c answered weakly.  
  
Aeryn immediately turned to John, drew her knife and cut his bonds. She was appalled by his appearance, and the strange way his legs were arranged worried her.  
  
"John? Can you understand me?"  
  
"Aeryn .... she .... lying .... never."  
  
Aeryn tried to be as comforting as her current state would allow. "I know, John. Don't worry about any of that now. We need to get you out of here."  
  
"More soldiers coming .... heard her."  
  
Aeryn started to move faster. She tentatively stretched John's leg and could feel the break. His sharp intake of breath told her of the pain it caused. Ignoring it, she hauled him up and supported his weight as best she could. Teal'c had made his way over to them.  
  
"Allow me to assist you."  
  
"Can you manage? You're hurt."  
  
"My symbiote will repair the damage in time. Until then, I will endure the discomfort."  
  
Each took one shoulder to support his weight. As they started to make their way across the basement towards the exit, Aeryn noticed that John's arms were hanging loosely at the shoulders. She had a burning desire to go back and finish Calis, but there was no time for that sort of indulgence now, and the sometimes annoying moral compass with which she was now burdened told her that it would be wrong to kill the disruptor in her present condition.  
  
--------------------  
  
The fuzziness was starting to fade, and she could see again. She was in intense pain, and her muscles seemed no longer to be under her control. Forcing her head up somehow, she saw three figures heading away from her. She could not allow him to escape now, no matter the cost.  
  
Calis had been trained to ignore pain, and there was considerable pain to ignore, but there was more to this. She felt no response from any of her limbs. Through an act of immense concentration, she forced her right hand down to the knife concealed in her boot. She still felt nothing, but she saw her body respond. Planning out the motion carefully in her head, she willed her body to respond once again. It did.  
  
She rose in one swift if somewhat clumsy motion and threw herself across the few hentas separating her from the central figure in the trio. Then she saw her hand drive the knife into his back.  
  
Sun turn towards her as the other human took Crichton's full weight. She saw Sun's left hand shoot out to grasp the back of her head and twist it. She recognized the move instantly and knew what was coming. She heard, but never felt, the sharp crack as the palm of Sun's right hand contacted violently with her chin. As she slumped to the ground, she had a few moments to considered how odd everything looked from this angle, with her head hanging loosely on her neck. Those thoughts didn't last long. Her vision started to fade, and she knew she would be dead in a few microts. At least she had taken Crichton with her.  
  
--------------------  
  
Aeryn examined John's stab wound in absolute terror. She was no medic, but she could tell that the bleeding wasn't as extensive as it would have been if the knife had penetrated deeply or pierced a vital organ. She suspected that it had been deflected off a rib. Still, he was bleeding continuously and had lost consciousness. They took a moment to bind the wound with the only available material, strips from Calis' dress, and then started to move. If John was right, the Peacekeepers would be upon them soon.  
  
Aeryn and Teal'c half carried and half dragged John out of the building. In his current condition, there was no way they could get him to the rendezvous point in time. They managed to get away from the building and headed toward the city center.  
  
Once they were far enough away, they stopped in an alley.  
  
"You should go. We can't possibly get him there in time."  
  
"I could say the same to you, Aeryn Sun."  
  
Aeryn shook her head. There was nothing to discuss. "I will not abandon him."  
  
"And I will not abandon either of you. Therefore, I propose that we find some way for all three of us to join our comrades."  
  
"Look, there's no frelling way we can get there on foot with John like this...."  
  
She had a thought. "Maybe we don't need to. Stay with him for a few microts. I'll be back." She leaned in close to John's unconscious form, gently touched his face and whispered into his ear, her voice trembling, "You hold on, you hear me. I am frelling well not going to lose you now." Then she ran quickly around a corner.  
  
It didn't take long. She saw a Brinisi ground vehicle carrying two Peacekeeper techs and stood in its path. The vehicle stopped and one of the techs got out.  
  
"Sir, we are under orders to return to base."  
  
"Frell your orders. I have two prisoners in need of immediate transport. I'm taking your vehicle."  
  
The tech who had spoken hesitated. "This is highly irregular."  
  
She struck the him hard across the jaw with the butt of her rifle, knocking him to the ground, and turned to the other one still in the vehicle.  
  
"Do I get an argument from you as well?"  
  
He scrambled out and stood at attention. "No, Sir!"  
  
"Pick up your friend and get back to base. Now!"  
  
She didn't wait to see what they would do. Aeryn had been a Peacekeeper most of her life, and although it now embarrassed her to do this, she knew that the techs would do as they were instructed without question.  
  
She returned to the alley. "Help me get him up. We have a vehicle."   
  
They got John into the back and headed directly to the rendezvous point.  
  
--------------------  
  
"This is going to be tricky."  
  
They hadn't gone far when they found themselves faced with a wall of Peacekeepers blocking their exit.  
  
"Tell them to back off now."   
  
Scorpius did nothing.  
  
O'Neill shoved the barrel of his P-90 roughly against the back of Scorpius' head.   
  
"Like I said, I don't like to repeat myself. Do it."  
  
"You will stand down."   
  
The Peacekeepers looked around in confusion.  
  
"Immediately!"  
  
To a man, they backed away.   
  
O'Neill lead the way with Scorpius in front of him. Carter supported part of Daniel's weight on one arm while holding her weapon with the other.   
  
"What about the others, Sir?"  
  
"Let's hope some of them made it out. We'll find out when we get back to the ship."  
  
Upon leaving the building, O'Neill led them to one of the vehicles parked near the entrance. The Peacekeepers had been ordered to remain well away. As they approached their objective, Scorpius took the instant's distraction offered by a low flying prowler to throw himself at the humans. It wouldn't have worked except that the sudden surge of strength came as a surprise to them. O'Neill managed to fire from a prone position but only hit Scorpius in the leg. There was no time for a second shot as the Peacekeepers who had been waiting near the building entrance made their way towards them.  
  
The heads of the two closest Peacekeepers exploded in rapid succession. The others took cover, and the three humans took the unexpected opportunity to get into the vehicle and out of the base as fast as possible. They heard the sound of equipment exploding behind them. It was too small and sporadic to be the main building going up. It must have been Smith.  
  
--------------------  
  
From his concealed position, Lt Smith saw that only SG1 had emerged from the base. They appeared to have a prisoner, and the Peacekeepers were keeping clear of them. He saw the prisoner break away and the Peacekeepers begin to advance. His mission had been to provide some cover for the assault team's retreat by destroying some equipment at the far end of the base, parked prowlers or marauders. Now he found himself engaging individual Peacekeepers. It worked well enough to get them to keep their heads down and let SG1 get away.  
  
Once they were out of the base, he continued to fire at any large target that presented itself. He knew that remaining in a fixed position this long was a mistake, but there was no other cover for the three running from the base. He saw a lone prowler approach. He took aim and prepared to fire. The prowler fired first.  
  
--------------------  
  
Within the main building of the Brinisi base, the small metallic devices the humans had placed began to spew a colorless gas. It spread quickly throughout the outer hallways. The devices exploded simultaneously, igniting the gas and resulting in fireballs that spread throughout the hallways and into the laboratory facilities. The heat caused instant condensation of the gaseous accelerant, which now covered key points of the building. The resulting fire would burn as hot as the one at the gate and would be as difficult to extinguish.   
  
--------------------  
  
Aeryn drove like a maniac, partly because of her unfamiliarity with the vehicle, but mostly because she was desperate to get John to the ship. The streets were almost deserted. The Brinisi, practical people to begin with, had learned over the preceding weekens how to stay out of the way, and the recent explosions had been more than enough incentive to keep most of them indoors. They passed a few Peacekeepers near the center of the city, but no one paid them any special attention. As they approached the Western outskirts, the streets became totally empty.  
  
They were early by more than 5 minutes. Sorenson's small reconnaissance team had already assembled at the marker where they were supposed to wait. Aeryn and Teal'c lifted John out and carried him towards the assembled humans.  
  
Sorenson glanced at Crichton and said, "Flint, take a look at him."  
  
Aeryn instantly blocked his approach. She hadn't worked with these particular humans, and didn't really trust anyone at the moment.  
  
"It's alright, he's a medic."  
  
She relented marginally, but maintained her grip on John. The human medic examined the hastily prepared bandages, already soaked through with blood. Humans, Aeryn had discovered, were very easy to read, and she didn't like the look in this man's eyes.  
  
"We can't do anything here, but we need to take a look at this as soon as we get back to the ship."  
  
Aeryn nodded, pulled John down to the ground and held him in a death grip.  
  
Sorenson addressed Teal'c. "Ramirez?"  
  
"Sgt. Ramirez was killed while attempting to rescue Dr. Crichton. Rest assured that he died as a warrior."  
  
Sorenson looked away. Aeryn could tell that he took the loss personally, something a Peacekeeper would never have done for a lost subordinate.  
  
--------------------  
  
"We're nearly there sir, and we haven't been spotted yet."  
  
Carter peered out from the back of the vehicle at the marauders scouring the city. There was nothing to distinguish their transport from any of the others, and Smith's diversion combined with some very fancy driving from O'Neill had insured that the Peacekeepers had lost track of them at the base.  
  
Their luck failed at the last minute. As they approached the pickup site, Carter noticed that one of the marauders had turned towards them. By the time they stopped and joined the others waiting at the marker, three other marauders had converged on their position from different directions, and several prowlers circled overhead. The commandos poured out and started to advance as soon as the ships landed. Fortunately for the humans, it seemed that their orders were to capture rather than kill. Carter was certain that they would already be dead otherwise.  
  
The humans arranged themselves in two small semi-circles separated by a few feet, weapons at the ready and prepared for the worst. The larger group consisted of Aeryn, Crichton, SG-1 and Flint. The remainder of Sorenson's team made up the other.  
  
A Peacekeeper addressed them from the far end of the street. Everyone turned to Carter.  
  
"He wants us to drop our weapons and surrender."  
  
O'Neill asked quietly, "How much longer?"  
  
Carter glanced at her watch. "Should be any second, sir."  
  
No sooner had she said this than two ships materialized overhead and two columns of rings descended on the two groups. A moment later, they were on the Tok'ra vessels.  
  
O'Neill addressed the pilot. "Are they following?"  
  
"They are attempting to do so, but it will serve no purpose." With that, the Tok'ra touched a control to activate the hyperdrive, and the Peacekeepers were left far behind.  
  
Carter approached Aeryn. She had moved aside slightly to allow Sorenson's medic to work on John but wouldn't let go of his hand.  
  
"Ask him how John is?"  
  
Carter relayed the question.  
  
"The knife didn't penetrate too deeply and I don't think there are any internal injuries, but he's bleeding badly. I changed the dressing, but it's already starting to soak through. I don't think we can control it." He paused for a few moments looking back and forth from Carter to Aeryn. "I don't think he's going to survive the trip back to the gate."  
  
Aeryn's face became ashen. Carter would not have imagined her capable of that look of utter defeat. She snapped out of it with frightening abruptness.  
  
"What about the Brinisi gate?"  
  
"We can't get to it, Aeryn. That part of it went according to plan."  
  
"We will frelling well do something! I am not going to sit here and watch him die! What about one of the other Alliance worlds. This ship is faster than anything I've seen before. We should be able to get to one in time."  
  
Carter didn't want to destroy her hopes, but she needed to inject some reality into the situation.   
  
"Would they help us, Aeryn? I want to save John too, but we can't risk everyone else. If you could point us to someone who we're certain will help, we would do our best to get there."  
  
Aeryn's face suddenly lit up.  
  
"My comm. .... It's not a fake like the ones you're wearing. Is there some way to use all this dren," she waved her hand at the alien technology, " to contact Moya with it?"  
  
"Wait, it's been weeks. Would your ship even be there?"  
  
"I don't know, but we can try."  
  
Carter had a quick conversation with O'Neill and then took Aeryn's comm. to the ship's communications array. She understood this technology better than any other human. A scan of the Sebacean device revealed the working frequencies, and she quickly determined that the Tok'ra technology could boost the signal far beyond anything the device had been designed for.  
  
"Aeryn, get over here."   
  
Aeryn left Crichton's side with obvious reluctance.   
  
"This might work, but only if they're still there, of course. I boosted the signal and narrowed it enough to hit anything in orbit of the planet where Moya is supposed to be. Here goes nothing. Speak into that."  
  
"Can anyone hear me? D'argo? Zhaan?"  
  
There was silence for a few agonizing moments. Then, [Aeryn? Where the hezmana are you? How are you contacting us?]  
  
The relief in Aeryn's voice was mixed with an obvious trace of irritation. "Never mind. Tell Zhaan that John is injured. He is bleeding badly. We should be there in .... ," she looked to Carter.  
  
"About 30 minutes."  
  
"Approximately half an arn. We will be arriving on an alien ship. Be ready for us."  
  
[Understood.]   
  
--------------------  
  
D'argo waited in the docking bay. He was alone. Zhaan was preparing to receive Crichton and Chiana was helping. Rygel was off somewhere, stuffing his face as usual. Stark was doing whatever it was Stark did. He had wanted to leave this place weekens ago but had been overruled. He didn't want to abandon his comrades, but the chance that they could escape the Peacekeeper occupation was vanishingly small. No one on the planet had been able to explain why the Peacekeepers would take a single city on Brinisa. It seemed preposterous that they would expend those resources for Crichton or Aeryn alone. The others had come to no definitive decision about staying or leaving. It was Pilot who refused to leave while there was still any hope.   
  
The ship arrived on schedule and was like nothing he had ever seen. D'argo didn't know what to expect, so he drew his Qualta blade and waited. Aeryn emerged first, followed by a number of Peacekeepers, one of whom was helping Aeryn carry Crichton on a stretcher of some kind. D'argo was confused.  
  
"Stop! I demand to know why these Peacekeepers are here."  
  
"D'argo, get the frell out of my way or I will kill you myself." Aeryn's voice was ice cold.  
  
Whatever was going on, he knew that there was no arguing with Aeryn when she was in that state, and that her threat was not an idle one. He also got his first look at Crichton as she strode past him, and silently made way for the strange assembly.  
  
A woman walked up to him and looked at him a little apprehensively. "We're not Peacekeepers. We're humans like John, and one of us is in need of medical attention."   
  
"Humans? How is that possible? And how are you piloting such an advanced ship?"  
  
"It's a long story. Right now, we need to get to the infirmary, so if you don't mind ...."  
  
She was followed by two males, supporting a third between them. They followed Aeryn to the medical bay.  
  
"What the frell is going on?" he demanded of no one in particular.  
  
D'argo was confused. At least he was used to the feeling.  
  
--------------------  
  
Aeryn was hovering over her expectantly, and although she understood her shipmates concern, it wasn't making her job any easier.  
  
"Will he be alright?"  
  
"I've managed to control the bleeding, but his injuries are extensive, and he has already lost a great deal of blood. It is fortunate that we have a supply of his blood in reserve. We both know he is strong, Aeryn. The Goddess willing, he will recover."  
  
Aeryn nodded absently, and Zhaan noticed for the first time how tired she looked. It was as if days of unending stress had suddenly reached a culmination. She still didn't know what had happened or how the other humans had arrived aboard Moya, but explanations could wait.  
  
"You look exhausted, child. Perhaps you should consider getting some rest. John will be fine on his own for a little while."  
  
She took a seat near John's bed and announced in a tone that would admit no argument, "He's been on his own enough. I'm not going anywhere."  
  
"Uh .... pardon me, ma'am." It was the human woman. "You seem to be a doctor. Our friend here has been through quite a lot. Do you suppose you could take a look at him next?"  
  
"Of course. You may call me, Zhaan, by the way."  
  
"Samantha."  
  
She walked to the other bed, around which were gathered the other humans. None of them looked particularly comfortable with her presence. Aeryn had said that only the female and the male with the strange symbol on his forehead would be able to understand her.   
  
"Samantha, would you please ask the others to step aside."  
  
Carter relayed the request, and Zhaan ran a scanner over Jackson when the others stepped away.  
  
"He has internal injuries consistent with severe electrical shocks. I imagine he is in considerable pain."  
  
"You can say that again," Jackson managed to croak.  
  
"You understand her?" O'Neill asked.  
  
"Microbes."   
  
Zhaan addressed Jackson directly. "I can treat your wounds, but I can do nothing for the internal damage. Your injuries are not life-threatening as far as I can tell, but I cannot be certain of anything. I fear that my knowledge of human physiology is quite limited."  
  
"Thank you anyway," Carter offered. Then turning to Jackson, she said, "I'm sure Janet can fix you right up once we get home, Daniel."  
  
"I could offer you something for the pain. It was worked on John in the past with no ill effects, so there should be no problem."  
  
"I'll take it. Anything's got to be better than how I feel now."  
  
She turned to the tall human, the other one who could understand her.  
  
"You appear to be injured as well. Would you like me to examine you?"  
  
"I am grateful for the offer, but it is unnecessary. I would, however, appreciate the opportunity to perform my daily meditation in private. I carry within me a symbiotic life form which will facilitate my recovery while I meditate."  
  
"You heal yourself through meditation? And you carry another life within you? I would appreciate the chance to discuss these matters with you when you feel better."  
  
He bowed slightly and said, "I would welcome the opportunity."  
  
--------------------  
  
The medication Zhaan had given Jackson seemed to stabilize his condition. He managed to recover enough to start badgering everyone aboard about their respective languages and cultures. Rygel was an especially interesting subject because of his background, but they all fascinated him. It was going well enough until he encountered Stark, who was a little too strange for even his curiosity.  
  
Carter split her time between studying as much of the Peacekeeper equipment as she could get her hands on and talking to Pilot about Moya's biomechanoid technology.   
  
After spending several hours in a deep state of kel'no'reem, Teal'c spent the remainder of the day in conversation with Zhaan. They were joined by Flint who had essentially attached himself to her as a means of avoiding Chiana, whose early attention had him more than a little spooked.  
  
O'Neill wandered through Moya's hallways and eventually found himself on the terrace. The astronomer in him couldn't help but wish he had a telescope. For most of the day, he had been shadowed by D'argo, who apparently identified him as the primary potential threat. At one point he had turned around and said, "Hey, tentacle boy, I know you're back there." This earned him a growl, and even if he couldn't understand the language, the meaning was quite clear.  
  
--------------------  
  
At ship's evening, Carter walked into the medical bay. Aeryn was there as expected. She hadn't budged all day.  
  
"How is he, Aeryn?"  
  
"Zhaan says he's stable. He regained consciousness a few times, but he was still disoriented. It will take time."  
  
"How long are you planning to sit with him?"  
  
"As long as it takes."  
  
Carter suppressed a smile. John had done very well for himself with Aeryn Sun. She was happy for her friend, for both her friends.  
  
"Aeryn, there's something we need to talk about. Col. O'Neill thought it might be best coming from me."  
  
Aeryn looked at her suspiciously. "What?"  
  
"We can't wait much longer. Now that the Peacekeepers know about us, we can't take chances, not with the gate on the staging planet and not with the Asgard technology. We have to get back to the gate within 20 hours, and it will take another 15 just to get from here to there. After that, the support personnel have orders to gate back to Earth, and the address will be permanently locked out of our computers. Not that it really matters for us anyway, since they're going to take the only Asgard dialing device with them."   
  
"Zhaan says John shouldn't be moved."  
  
"I spoke with her a little while ago. She said it might be dangerous to move him now, but she doesn't know how dangerous."  
  
"Couldn't you just come back to the other planet in a few weekens? Moya could make it there by then."  
  
"Even if it was approved, and it wouldn't be because of the security risk, there wouldn't be any way to coordinate it. Besides which, the Asgard aren't going to let us hold on to their toys much longer."  
  
Aeryn said nothing for a few moments, apparently absorbed in thought.  
  
"You have a decision to make."  
  
"There is no decision. I will not risk John's life, no matter what, not even if he hates me for it."  
  
Carter nodded in acknowledgment. "For what it's worth, I think you're making the right choice. And Aeryn, no matter what happens, I know he's not going to blame you. I haven't had much of a chance to get reacquainted with John, but I have spent a fair amount of time with you in the past couple of weeks. I think he's going to be happy as long as he's with you, wherever that is."  
  
Aeryn cast her eyes down, grateful for Carter's words, but at a loss for a response. A very soft "Thank you" was all she could manage.  
  
--------------------  
  
Everyone including Aeryn, who had finally agreed to leave John for a few microts, was gathered in the main docking bay to bid the humans farewell. There was a brief exchange of supplies. The humans left some medicines for Crichton and some food, which Rygel immediately claimed. They took with them some of Zhaan's herbs, a small collection of various pieces of Peacekeeper technology, and a supply of translator microbes for further study.  
  
Aeryn found herself unexpectedly emotional at the impending departure of the humans. She shook hands with each of them, and wished Teal'c and O'Neill well. Carter was last.  
  
"It's been a pleasure to get to know you, Aeryn."  
  
"Likewise. I .... consider you a friend."  
  
She leaned in closer, so that only Aeryn would hear. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to him. Take care of him."  
  
Aeryn smiled at Carter. "Thank you. I plan to."  
  
"Be sure to look me up when you two eventually get to Earth. I know John, and I've gotten to know you, so it's definitely 'when' not 'if'."  
  
"We will. Goodbye, Samantha."  
  
--------------------  
  
Crichton had been working on his module for nearly an arn. Much longer, and he knew Aeryn would come after him. His progress over the past few weekens had been good, but Aeryn still refused to let him overtax himself. It was impossible to argue with her when it came to his recovery. He wasn't complaining too much. He knew that she only did it because she loved him.  
  
As he walked back to his and Aeryn's quarters, he felt a strange sense of foreboding. Moya seemed unnaturally silent. He hadn't noticed earlier, but he had been completely absorbed in his work.  
  
Crichton hit his comms. "Pilot, is there something wrong with Moya? It's awfully quiet. I haven't even seen a DRD in close to an arn." There was no response. "Pilot?.... Aeryn, you there? Pilot's not responding." Again, there was no response. "D'argo? Chiana? Zhaan? Anybody there?" When there was still no response, he started to move as fast as his still healing leg would let him.  
  
He paused at the door to his quarters before forcing down his apprehension and stepping through. He saw her lying on the bed and let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. She was asleep. That was odd for Aeryn, since it wasn't the sleep cycle and she never took naps. He supposed that she must simply be exhausted from looking after him nonstop all these weeks. Still, he should wake her. She would be annoyed if he let her sleep through dinner.  
  
He stepped closer and the hallway light he had been blocking struck her face. He stopped in his tracks. She was absolutely pale. Crichton had only ever seen her look like that once, and that had been the worst experience of his life. He looked further down. The sheets, normally a reflective gold, were stained deep red.  
  
Before he could take another step towards her, he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye. A figure stepped out of the shadows at the far end of the room. It was someone he had never expected to see again.   
  
When Calis spoke, her voice was deadly calm. "Hello, John. It took me long enough to find you. You and I never got a chance to finish our conversation." She casually glanced at Aeryn, lying motionless. "Don't worry about your trelk bothering us this time. She's dead."  
  
--------------------  
  
She woke to the sudden movement by her side well before she heard the sound. She looked up quickly to see him sitting bolt upright. It took a moment to register that the anguished yell was actually her name. Aeryn sat up, took his head in her hands and turned him to face her. He had a wild, unfocused look that momentarily terrified her.  
  
"John! John! Stop it ...."  
  
He came out of it as recognition dawned.   
  
"Aeryn!? You're o.k.? God, you're o.k."   
  
With that, he enfolded her in a crushing embrace and buried his face in the crook of her neck. She could feel him wince as she made contact with the bandages covering his ribs, but he wouldn't let go. His breathing was ragged and she could feel him trembling. She held him and quietly stroked his hair and massaged the back of his neck. When he finally seemed to calm down a little, she gently pushed him away and forced him to lie back down. She got down next to him and put her arm around him, trying to avoid his injuries. The past few days had made her something of an expert at that.  
  
It had been five days since the humans had left Moya and two since Zhaan had released John from the infirmary. He was no longer in any danger, but his injuries would take time to heal. Zhaan had applied a salve to the burns and cuts. She claimed there would be little or no scarring. The broken bones were bound in place and infused with a chemical to help the bonds strengthen more rapidly. It would still be another four or five weekens before his body was completely healed. That was far more time than would have been required if they had access to a proper medical facility, but far less than it would have taken without Zhaan's intervention.  
  
"Are you in a mood to talk?" she asked quietly.   
  
She hoped that he would be. John's body would heal, but right now, Aeryn was more concerned about his mind. He had been through worse in his time in the Uncharted Territories, but how much could one man take?  
  
"What was it this time?" This wasn't the first bad dream.  
  
John hesitated for a few microts, and then told her about the dream. Aeryn breathed a sigh of relief. He was talking, and she knew everything would be alright.  
  
The dream was confusing. Her part in it was a little strange.  
  
"I can understand the disruptor, but why would you be dreaming about her hurting me?"  
  
"I don't know. Maybe it's just because I was so worried about you when we were apart. Maybe that just got mixed in with everything else ...."  
  
She leaned over and kissed him gently before settling back next to him. "I was worried about you too." He smiled a little at that.  
  
"You must be getting sick of this. The pathetic human, afraid of his own shadow."  
  
She felt an unexpected flash of anger. "There is nothing pathetic or cowardly about you. I never want to hear you say anything like that again." Aeryn regretted her tone as soon as the words were out, but John just looked amused.  
  
"Yes, ma'am."  
  
"Well, good then. I have never considered you a coward, John. I want you to understand that, and I want you to know how proud of you I am. I may not always have been able to express it, but it's how I have always felt."  
  
Aeryn hesitated before bringing up the thoughts this line of conversation had forced to mind, but now seemed as good a time as any.  
  
"It was worse before wasn't it? I mean after the Aurora chair. Before you knew about the chip."  
  
John seemed to think about it for a few moments. "Yeah, I suppose it was."  
  
Aeryn looked away and became very quiet. The vague feelings of guilt that had been nagging at her for over two cycles had started to surface and take form. John gently turned her face back to look at him. His hands were still bound to allow the breaks to heal properly, so the motion was a little awkward.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"I ...." She swallowed before continuing haltingly. "I'm sorry I couldn't be of more .... comfort to you then. I knew you needed it, or at least that you needed something .... I just didn't know what to do or how to help. I should have tried harder."  
  
Aeryn didn't know what to expect. Perhaps forgiveness or maybe even accusation. The look of utter disbelief she saw on John's face took her by surprise.  
  
"Aeryn, how long have you been carrying this around? I wish you had said something earlier." He started to stroke her hair clumsily and continued. "Listen to me. You are the only thing that kept me sane back then. I don't ever want you to think you failed me in any way. I know how hard an adjustment you've had to make over the past few cycles and how much you've had to overcome for us to be where we are now. I never expected it to be easy, and I will never begrudge you the time it took. So just stop thinking like that, o.k.?"  
  
She opened her mouth and closed it again, not sure what to say. A slight nod was all she could manage. Aeryn had wanted him to understand and hoped that he could, but until now, never really believed that he already did. She thought of the period of extreme awkwardness between them that had followed her resurrection two and a half cycles ago. They had come so far since then. It really had been a remarkable journey for both of them.  
  
Now that this was out in the open, there was something else she wanted to address. They had long ago talked about John's indiscretion on the Royal Planet, and in time, that had been forgiven and forgotten, but there were things neither of them had really expressed.  
  
"I don't know why I'm bringing this up now. Maybe the disruptor just reminded me of some things .... on the Royal Planet, when I left you, I didn't mean .... that is, I didn't understand ...."  
  
He cut her off. "You were disappointed in me. I know. There was a lot going on, and I just couldn't take any more."  
  
"I should have tried harder to understand what you were going through."  
  
This time he didn't contradict her. "Maybe. Or maybe it just wasn't possible back then. Either way, I'm the one who screwed up in the end. I know that. I won't make excuses for myself."  
  
There it was. Out in the open. And it hadn't been as bad as she thought it would be. She closed the distance between them and gingerly put her head on his shoulder, making sure she wasn't causing him any discomfort.  
  
He kissed the top of her head and said, "I love you, Aeryn."  
  
She looked up at him and said, "I love you too, John."   
  
He looked back in surprise. Aeryn did her best not to look too smug, but she knew she wasn't pulling it off very well.  
  
"What the heck was that, Aeryn? You sounded funny."  
  
"I said it in English."  
  
She watched as an idiotic grin descended over his face. "You were busy on Earth, weren't you?"  
  
"Well, you don't think I wasted all my time thinking about you. I had a very productive few weekens on your planet."  
  
"I wish I had been there to see that."  
  
"So do I."   
  
She hesitated slightly before continuing.   
  
"We haven't had much of a chance to really talk in the past few days. You were still groggy from Zhaan's medicines. You haven't said anything about missing your chance to go home. I'm sorry about that, John, but I couldn't risk it .... I should have stopped her from stabbing you. I got careless and ...."  
  
"Aeryn, stop it. Nothing that happened was your fault, so don't even think of blaming yourself. If it hadn't been for you, I would be dead right now. None of that really matters anyway. The only thing that matters is that we're together again."  
  
She held him just a little tighter.   
  
"Tell the truth, Aeryn, you're not all that disappointed to be back on Moya, are you?"  
  
"I won't lie to you. I liked what I saw of your Earth, but Moya is the only home I have ever known."  
  
He spoke a little hesitantly when he asked, "If we ever get another chance, do you think you could try to make the adjustment?"  
  
She had to smile at, "Of course. You've made enough for me. Anyway, I was telling you the truth. I liked your Earth. I think I could learn to live there."  
  
That seemed to satisfy him because he just kissed her again.   
  
"So, tell me everything. What did you see and do?"  
  
She settled in and got comfortable. This was going to be a long conversation, and she was looking forward to it as much as he seemed to be.  
  
"Well, first of all, I tried that chocolate you keep going on about ...."  
  



End file.
